


Leather and Lace

by pakiinnit



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Felix is a good friend, Fluff, Gen, M/M, That's it, chan might be endeared, chan's a good bad boy, changbin and minho are frenemies, jump is our always, minho is a struggling English student, minho will fight people for chan's smile, minho's fear of heights will be used liberally, no beta we die like men, that's the fic, there's a jacket, there's rain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-01-11 02:36:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18421074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pakiinnit/pseuds/pakiinnit
Summary: “minho.”“huh?” bang turned to him, confused.minho sighed, “my name, it’s lee minho, not ‘bro’.”(or the one where Bang Chan has got a reputation that hinges on a singular leather jacket and Lee Minho's curious.)





	1. Rain

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by [this tweet](https://twitter.com/glitteryminho/status/1115479336604143616)
> 
> it's probably gonna be a multi-chapter fic idk. i wanna write that library scene.

* * *

“who’s that?” minho asked, eyes following the leather clad boy as he made his way around the university courtyard, sliding past the bench minho was on and heading towards the back where all the shade and none of the people were. he made for a rather imposing figure, with his black leather jacket and his studded boots, silver chains adorning his neck and belt, as well as the bleached hair run through with streaks of blue.

 

minho’s gaze caught sight of the three pins holding his hair back on the side and he was instantly intrigued – they looked like the hello kitty pins his cousin loved to wear.

 

hyunjin grunted something unintelligible from next to him.

 

“what?”

 

with a tired groan the boy lifted his head and stretched out his long limbs, nearly hitting minho in the face – “watch it!” – and turned to look at him, “who?”

 

“him.” minho motioned towards the boy with a nod of his head, taking a sip from his juice box in the process. when hyunjin’s only reply was silence he turned back around to face his friend.

 

hyunjin looked, confused, maybe, minho couldn’t really pinpoint the expression on his face. his eyebrows scrunched up together and his mouth was pursed, “why the sudden interest, hyung?”

 

minho shrugged, “no reason, kinda looks out of place.”

 

minho meant the pins on his head, but hyunjin muttered “you can say that again,” under his breath and seemed to be referring to something else entirely. it piqued minho’s interest even higher.

 

“stay away from him, minho-hyung.” hyunjin warned with a sigh, head dropping back down into the nest created by his arms and jacket.

 

“why?” minho asked, even more curious. hyunjin had never told him to stay away from anyone, not even the boy he’d been fighting since first year, ji-something. so, him saying this now was strange.

 

“he’s bang chan.” hyunjin said with finality.

 

 _oh_. minho turned around, looking for the boy again. he found him sitting next to two other boys, one that minho recognized from his monday morning classes, and the other was hyunjin’s little rival in his course, the ji-something. the lanky boy was sporting hair even brighter than bang’s today and minho wondered for the health of his poor scalp. he looked at bang then, confused. he knew the name ‘bang chan’ and all the rumors that came with it, but he had never seen the boy himself.

 

but, as he watched bang throw his companions a stunning smile, laughing at something ji-something had said, one that stretched up to his eyes and revealed twin dimples on his cheeks, minho silently wondered if any of those rumours were actually true.

 

he wanted to find out.

 

 

* * *

 

 

minho cursed the day he was given birth. maybe he should send a message to his mother explaining how his birth was a mistake of epic proportion, especially if it meant living on this god-forsaken planet, but he had left his phone at home like an absolute idiot.

 

it was bad enough that he’d needed an extension on his final paper for his literature module – the easiest module for this year to boot – because he’d been stressing about his dance showcase for weeks, but to procrastinate so bad that he had but a few _hours_ left to hand it in? his life was officially cancelled.

 

minho stared at the bus stop from underneath the awning in despair, shiver racking his frame every other second. it was _freezing_ outside, and he’d forgotten to grab anything except his final paper and his wallet.

 

he looked down at the paper in his hand, the ends a little wet from when he’d had to run from the bus stop to his current location, and then at the rain pouring between him and the bus stop like a god damn monsoon. his hope was slowly dwindling. he squinted his eyes, thinking about the distance, it wasn’t _that_ far of a run. there was a thirty percent chance he could make it and get on his bus without his paper getting soaked.

 

as if the world had heard the thought in his head, the wind suddenly picked up, sending the rain halfway into minho’s little safe space and drenching the bottom of his grey sweatpants.

 

“great,” minho muttered, irritated and wet, “just great.”

 

he looked around, trying to find anything, any sign or a shelter closer to the bus stop that would at least keep his paper safe if not himself. he didn’t have much time, exactly – he glanced down at his watch –three hours before his life would go down the drain. but even as his desperation grew, there was nothing around him that could help him. he’d left his house without his _phone_ because he’d been hell bent on handing his paper in as soon as he’d done the referencing. and now here he was, a road away from the bus stop, staring despondently at the rain dripping down the beat-up bus sign.

 

a dilemma, that was what he was in. he’d never used this particular bus stop before, so he didn’t really know the timings of the bus, which meant unless he went over _there_ , he could potentially miss his bus. _however_ , the bus stop had no shelter form the rain, which meant not only would _he_ get soaked, so would the only thing keeping him alive – his final paper.

 

 _well, that’s it then._ minho sat down on the cold concrete with a resigned sigh.

 

he debated the merits of turning up with a soggy mess of an assignment, and then remembered it was professor min he’d be handing it to. the man was a hard-ass on a good day, who expected nothing but perfection from his students, and there was no way he’d let minho get away with _another_ extension.

 

just as minho was contemplating going home and grabbing his umbrella and printing his paper out again – also silently hoping hyunjin hadn’t fallen asleep yet – someone rushed into the awning, crowding in close to minho and shaking off the rain on him.

 

“holy shit, it’s pouring like mad out there!” the stranger said loudly, laughing. minho frowned when a few droplets hit his face, but otherwise didn’t say anything. he couldn’t see the person from underneath his hoodie, and he didn’t recognize the voice either, which meant he didn’t have to engage. he was in a bad mood as it was, and he didn’t want to deal with anyone right now. especially someone who could _laugh_ at the monstrosity that was today’s weather.

 

minho groaned when the rain splattered against his arms, the wind whipping it under the shelter. at this rate he’d be just as wet as he would have been standing at the bus stop.

 

“oh.” the stranger turned around, surprised, “sorry bro, didn’t see you there.”

 

 _i’m not your bro_ , minho thought sulkily, but he stayed quiet, hoping the boy would leave it at that.

 

clearly this stranger was either too dumb to catch social cues, or he just didn’t care, because the boy just walked closer to minho, introducing himself, “hi there, i’m bang chan!”

 

minho whipped around surprised, coming face to face with pale knees surrounded by black ripped fabric before shooting his eyes up and – ah. yup, that was definitely bang chan.

 

he was wearing his trademark black leather jacket, except this time it was over a brown hoodie and black sweatpants. no jewellery in sight except for a single stud on his left ear. it glinted down at minho almost menacingly, the smile on bang’s face, however, was anything but menacing.

 

 _how are you smiling so brightly,_ minho wanted to ask, suddenly tired and blinded by the intensity of bang’s face. he just wanted to be home right now, screw his grade. he’d take the hit a late submission would cause if it meant he could be warm and in bed.

 

 _no_ , _i don’t mean that_. he needed his grades to stay up if it meant keeping his scholarship. it was the only reason he’d been allowed to take up dance on the side, his parents’ one condition.

 

“so,” bang continued on, despite minho’s silence and gawking, “who are you?”

 

minho sighed, squashing down a strange urge to scream. his curiosity about bang chan had dwindled somewhat over the past week of not glimpsing even a sight of him on campus, but now here he was, stuck under this awning just as much as minho was and minho – minho didn’t know what he wanted to ask the boy anymore. he didn’t have the pins in his hair right now, it was hidden mostly underneath his hood, and that was all minho had really been caught on.

 

he snapped out of his thoughts when the boy bent down and waved his hands in front of his face, “uh, hello? earth to whoever you are.”

 

“uhhh,” minho trailed off, blinking rapidly. from this close he could count the individual eyelashes on bang’s face and see that his eyes were a bit slanted, almost cat like. minho felt his heart skip a beat and frowned without realizing.

 

bang seemed to take this as a bad sign, however, because his smile dimmed and he moved back, “sorry, am i disturbing you?”

 

“no.” minho sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, he hadn’t put his contacts on and his glasses were still broken from when he’d dropped them off seungmin’s balcony last month, so his head was starting to hurt, “sorry i’m just a little stressed, and cold, and-“

 

a growl from his stomach cut him off.

 

“and hungry.” minho said, deadpan.

 

“that’s okay.” bang replied, smile back on his face. minho noticed, however, how he didn’t attempt to get closer. that was fine, minho liked his personal space, no matter how pretty the other boy was.

 

there was quiet after that. minho didn’t know bang and bang clearly wasn’t going to ask him who he was again. they were strangers so they just sat next to each other, the only sound between them being the pitter-patter of the rain and minho’s occasional sniffles.

 

after a particularly loud sneeze minho slumped against the shop front behind him, wishing he’d grabbed something warmer than a simple t-shirt. the sound of shuffling from next to him caught his attention and then a second later his face was being covered by a heavy material.

 

“what the-!” he flayed his arms, grabbing the offending fabric and glaring at bang. bang wasn’t looking at him however, his face was fixed to the front, but minho observed how his ears were almost bright red, stark against his pale skin. he looked back down at the object in his hands and almost let a smile take his face.

 

it was bang’s leather jacket.

 

with a final glance at the boy sitting beside him, minho tugged the jacket on, sighing contentedly when warmth enveloped him. he snuggled in close, humming softly as the smell of flower beds, natural musk, and hot chocolate surrounded him. it was oddly nice.

 

“thanks.” minho smiled into the jacket.

 

bang hummed a reply back, still seeming too embarrassed to look at him. minho giggled quietly, amused despite the situation.

 

“do you think the pizza place down the street would deliver in this weather?” minho asked, his stomach kicking up a fuss.

 

bang let out a surprised chuckle, “don’t think so, bro.”

 

“minho.”

 

“huh?” bang turned to him, confused.

 

minho sighed, “my name, it’s lee minho, not ‘bro’.”

 

bang flushed slightly, “uh right, i’m bang chan.” he repeated.

 

“yeah,” minho laughed, “i know.”

 

“right.” bang’s whole face was red now and he turned around, stretching the front of his shirt over his nose to hide his face. minho debated teasing him about it but decided not to. he barely knew the boy.

 

minho watched the rain slow down and hope shoved itself up his throat, threatening to overtake him. maybe if he –

 

“hey! minho!” bang grabbed him by the shoulder, hauling him to his feet with surprising strength, “that your bus?”

 

he was pointing at an approaching bus with the number ‘671’ flickering over the top screen. minho almost laughed out loud. he could actually make it!

 

“yes!” minho said, already running towards the bus stop, his paper hidden underneath his shirt. the bus would get here before his paper got soaked, he was sure. it was moving slower than normal, probably due to the abysmal weather conditions, but minho counted it in his favour, it meant he’d be able to run across to the bus stop without having to worry about the bus just passing him by.

 

as he reached the other side, he turned back to see bang chan still standing under the awning, one hand outstretched as if he was about to reach for something. minho tilted his head and waved his arms.

 

with his hands around his mouth he shouted, “thanks bang chan! you’re a sweetheart.”

 

he watched with glee as bang’s face flushed brightly again and he smiled, the sweetness of it striking minho straight in his heart. bang was cute.

minho stepped onto the bus as it stopped in front of him, taking a seat next to a window so he could wave at bang again. but by the time he’d sat down and looked out, bang was gone. and then minho realized that bang had called him by his first name, and he felt a different kind of warmth flood him.

 

 _bang chan, huh._ minho looked forward to seeing him again.

* * *

 


	2. Day Shack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “that jacket,” the boy said, not looking at minho and freezing him in place. 
> 
> “it’s nice, right?” minho flashed the boy his most charming smile, “i got it at a vintage store last month.”
> 
> (or the one where minho lies, a lot)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minho's an idiot basically and bang's too shy to ask minho to be his (boy)friend.

* * *

 

the next time minho was reminded about bang chan wasn’t until a few days after the incident in the rain.

 

it felt weird to call it that. an incident. something inconsequential. bang chan felt like a presence that was anything but that word. a little bit too present, a little bit too big, a little bit too _there_. it was hard to describe what he was and minho didn’t think any description could really do a boy like that justice.

 

seungmin would call him a love sick fool, but minho felt an odd sort of fascination with the blonde boy.

 

he didn’t think about him a lot, oddly enough, despite his interest in the resident ‘bad boy’. minho scoffed, what a stupid moniker.

 

“hey, june’s album is poppin’ don’t hate what you can’t have.” hyunjin remarked from behind him, thinking minho was replying to him. minho thanked the gods above for hyunjin’s lack of observation with everything in life and went back to his closet.

 

he was looking for his red hat, but he couldn’t find it _anywhere_. he had to get ready for his monday morning lecture and since it was the only class he had to be up before ten for, he was already running late by his calculations.

 

hyunjin had asked him to switch to the evening class instead, but that was almost suicidal. despite how much a _very_ vocal part of him always contemplated skipping every morning for a few hours of extra sleep, he really loved his class. professor lee refused to teach anything except morning lectures and minho would jump off a cliff before he allowed his schedule to be filled with professor min.

 

minho sighed with defeat, grabbing a blue hat instead, already knowing what the verdict would be. he turned around. hyunjin was lazing around on his bed, messing around with minho’s carefully constructed pillows and cushions.

 

“how about this?” minho displayed himself for hyunjin to critique. it was a ritual by now, something the both of them had been doing for each other since minho was sixteen.

 

hyunjin stopped fluffing his pillow for a quick glance at him and then dropped his head back down, both of his arms lifted into the air and formed a cross, indicating his displeasure.

 

minho threw his hat at his friend, debating whether he deserved the title at all and wondering whether five years of friendship was worth being late for.

 

“not a fan, hyung,” was hyunjin’s reply as he caught the hat and put it on. he sat up, adjusting the cushions back into their original space.

 

minho watched him do that for a moment before his eyes caught the sight of his clock behind his bed. he almost screeched out loud, he was _late_.

 

“i have a lecture, jinnie!” minho cried, stomping his foot in frustration. they’d now gone through seven hats and he’d been asked by hyunjin to change his trousers twice before he’d settled for a pair of black jeans. he threw a forlorn glance at where the first pair was discarded on the floor – those had been his favourite.

 

hyunjin merely waved his displeasure aside, “i just don’t think what you need is a hat, hyung.”

 

 _why didn’t you say so before_ , minho breathed in deeply, trying to calm the anger breaking through his patience.

 

“do you have like,” hyunjin looked around his messy room, clothes everywhere, “a jacket? something in black?”

 

his anger slowly evaporated at the sight of hyunjin actually helping. minho pouted, going back through his closet, “no, i don’t th-“

 

“oh!” hyunjin interrupted him. minho turned around to berate his friend, only to see him jump onto his bed and hop over to the other side. he made it look elegant despite his stature and the small room. a part of minho still hoped he’d trip.

 

hyunjin rummaged through the small clothes pile on his chair, dropping articles of clothing onto the floor in his search. minho let out a displeased noise. hyunjin grabbed a jacket off the back off his chair, “what’s this? try it on. now.”

 

minho caught the jacket as it was thrown at him. he gave hyunjin a resigned sigh, getting only a grin in response. he _really_ needed to be on his way out by now, so he put it on. it felt – weird. off. the jacket didn’t fit him like a jacket was supposed to, and it smelt different too, more pleasant than what he expected leather jackets to smell like.

 

it wasn’t until hyunjin had run across the room and manhandled minho to stand in-front of his mirror did he realise why the jacket didn’t feel like something he owned. it was bang chan’s leather jacket.

 

minho glanced quickly at hyunjin to see if he’d realised, but hyunjin wasn’t looking at him. minho took solace in the fact that his friend didn’t look suspicious either.

 

hyunjin looked over him with a critical eye. “this is a really nice jacket,” he praised, sounding a little surprised – minho pretended to be offended, just to see the smile blossom on hyunjin’s face, “don’t think i could own something nice?”. hyunjin tucked minho’s red sweater in and adjusted it slightly from the back. minho thanked the younger boy.

 

hyunjin looked as if he was waiting for minho’s answer, but minho stayed quiet. he was hoping if he didn’t say anything this couldn’t become incriminating. he wasn’t even sure how he would explain having the jacket to hyunjin, almost two weeks after the boy had warned him to stay away from bang chan.

 

minho wasn’t the type of person to heed warnings like that, but hyunjin would feel betrayed that he’d gone so long without telling him. ergo – minho wouldn’t say anything.

 

hyunjin, however, wasn’t deterred by his silence and minho was oddly reminded of bang’s own tenacity.

 

“where’d you get it?” hyunjin asked, leaning in close and inspecting the leather under his fingers.

 

“uh,” minho moved away from hyunjin, disguising his movement by walking over to the closet to close it, “a friend lent it to me.”

 

he turned back to the mirror to inspect his outfit. he felt a bit miffed that it looked good, the jacket complimenting both his complexion and his boots, and the pop of colour his red sweater added to the whole look vibed really well with minho. he hated it – the jacket wasn’t his and he didn’t think he had the guts to walk around the university with it on.

 

“who?” hyunjin scoffed, “seungmin?”

 

he draped himself over minho’s shoulder. he felt a little paranoid by hyunjin’s closeness to the jacket, as if his friend was going to smell bang on him and find him out.

 

“i’ve never seen that country boy wear a hint of leather in his entire life,” hyunjin said.

 

“his shoes,” minho muttered just to be contradictory, delighting in the look that passed across hyunjin’s face.

 

“hyung,” hyunjin whined, pushing more of his weight onto him.

 

“no", minho grunted. he tried to push him off with no success, “i have other friends other than the both of you.”

 

“if you say felix i’ll jump out the window,” hyunjin threatened, but minho could hear the smile in his voice.

 

“shut up and leave him alone,” minho swatted at his arm, finally managing to dislodge him off his frame. he glanced at the clock once again, anxiety bubbling inside him at the time – he needed to leave.

 

“i need to leave,” he told his friend. hyunjin had gone back to taking over his bed, stretching across it like one of his cats.

 

_speaking of cats._

“please feed my kids today,” minho reminded hyunjin. he walked across the room, kicking hyunjin’s leg in the process, and grabbed his keys and backpack. he slung it over his shoulders and took a brief stop in front of his mirror to fix his hair before leaving.

 

“okay, dad.” he heard hyunjin shout from his room, voice pitched high to be annoying.

 

minho rolled his eyes and locked the door behind him, heading for the bus stop.

 

it wasn’t until he came off the bus and entered the university, the big gold gates looming over him, that he realised he still had the jacket on.

 

_ah, damn._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

minho took a seat at the back of the lecture hall. he removed the jacket and placed it next to him. he hoped to all the gods above that no one had realised who the jacket belonged to, hyunjin was well known around the campus and he himself knew too many people. _one_ of them was bound to ask the younger boy about if it he was seen. he couldn’t afford a headache like that this week; professor min was going to release their grades for his hell of an assignment tomorrow and professor song was going to assign them their group project on friday.

 

he sent off a quick text to seungmin confirming their breakfast plans, and then slumped into his seat, head resting with a thump on the ledge in front of him. he was tired. minho wondered if he could afford not paying attention today, but before the thought could take residency in his brain professor kim walked inside. he turned the projector on and stood facing his students, a clear sign that the lecture was about to begin.

 

minho sighed and straightened up, getting his laptop out and waited for the lecture to start.

 

 

 

it wasn’t until halfway through the lecture, as professor kim began explaining the imagery of their assigned text, did minho’s attention start to divert from the contents of the powerpoint. he heard a noise from behind him and turned to face the back door of the hall. someone had arrived late and was trying to sneak in.

 

 _must be a first timer_ , minho thought lazily. he didn’t see the point of sneaking in. professor kim might have been young, but he wasn’t the most observant teacher once he got into the zone of the lecture, sometimes it was even like he couldn’t hear anything around him.

 

the boy that entered was a little on the shorter side, minho observed, decked in an all-black ensemble and a cap that was hiding his face, preventing minho from finding out who it was. this class wasn’t as big as some of the other classes, with only forty people, but minho hadn’t really bothered to learn many names or what they wore on the daily.

 

this one looked familiar, though.

 

the boy shuffled around the back for a bit until he finally slotted in a few seats away from minho. when he turned around, catching minho looking at him, he ignored minho’s smile and instead looked down and stared.

 

minho narrowed his eyes at the boy and then looked down, wondering what had caught his attention. his sweater was pristine, no stain in sight, and his fly was zipped up. minho looked back up and shot the boy a confused look, but he had already turned to face the front, typing away at his phone with one hand and the other reaching for his laptop,

 

 _well, that was weird,_ minho thought. with a final glance at the boy next to him he shrugged it off and honed back into the lecture. he let out a quiet curse when he noticed that professor kim had switched slides and hurried to catch up.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“if you have any questions, please stay behind.” professor kim ended, turning the projector off.

 

minho groaned, stretching his limbs out. professor kim had continued the two-hour lecture without a single break in between and his muscles were aching from disuse. he splayed his legs out to side, rubbing a particularly sore spot on his thigh.

 

“i can’t believe the prof would do that to us,” came a sweet voice from behind him.

 

minho turned around with a smile, “well then, i guess you don’t know professor kim at all.”

 

mina let out a giggle in response. she motioned towards the jacket on his lap. he glanced down, rubbing his hands over it. he’d ended up using it over the course of the last hour to warm himself up, professor kim regrettably never turned the heaters on, not even during the cold winter months apparently.

 

“nice jacket,” mina observed.

 

minho flushed unknowingly, “uh, yeah.”

 

mina didn’t comment on the strangeness of his reply. she pointed towards the front of the hall, where a group of three other girls and a boy were waiting patiently, “wanna join us for a late breakfast?”

 

minho winced at the hope in her voice, “i’d love to but i promised my friend i’d take him to day shack.”

 

mina’s face dropped but she hurried to cover it up, waving her hands in front of her face, “it’s fine! maybe next time?” she asked, her head tilted cutely. it would give off an aura of coy confidence if it wasn’t for how she was fidgeting on the spot.

 

minho desperately wished for hyunjin. he liked mina fine as a friend, but she seemed to be looking for more and he wasn’t sure how to turn her down. he settled for a vague, “maybe.”

 

“great!” mina exclaimed, clapping her hands together. she smiled at him, “i’ll see you later, minho.”

 

minho watched her bounce down the steps with a resigned sigh. he’d need to ask hyunjin to help him with this, but for now he had a friend to go see.

 

he packed his bag and slipped the jacket on. no one had seemed to figure out who it belonged to – which, of course they wouldn’t. it wasn’t like bang owned all the leather jackets in the world – so minho felt safe wearing it now.

 

he got up and turned around, only to come super close to bumping into the late comer.

 

“sorry about that!” minho took a step back, smiling.

 

“that jacket,” the boy said, not looking at minho and freezing him in place. minho narrowed his eyes at the boy, able to make out his features now that they were this close. a memory swept past and minho straightened with the realisation – it was one of the boys bang was always hanging out with in the courtyard. his familiarity made sense now.

 

minho took a deep breath, readying himself to lie. there were a few people still standing around and they were in peak eavesdropping distance. he didn’t need any weird rumours being spread about him and bang chan.

 

“it’s nice, right?” minho flashed the boy – he could not remember his name no matter how much he wracked his brain for it – his most charming smile, the one he used specifically on teachers and parents, “i got it at a vintage store last month.”

 

there. that would explain why it was so well worn out but minho hadn’t been seen in it yet.

 

the boy seemed to hesitate, eyes flashing from the jacket to his phone to minho and back to the jacket again. his previous confidence seemed to fade away in the face of minho’s façade. he took a final look at the jacket, “a vintage sale?”

 

“yup!” minho clarified. he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. he wished, not for the last time, that his bag had been big enough to fit the jacket into.

 

“right,” he said faintly. he rubbed the back of his neck and minho thought he could detect a hint of embarrassment, “sorry, i just – i thought i’d seen it somewhere before.”

 

“oh no, it’s okay.” minho laughed it off, feeling a bit bad for lying. he _had_ seen it before, on his friend no less. he placed a hand on his shoulder, patted it and drove his lie home, “i’ve actually gotten that a lot today.”

 

the boy nodded and turned away, no longer paying attention to him. he typed away furiously on his phone, face once again hidden from minho’s gaze. minho blinked at the clear dismissal. normally he’d be vexed, but he counted it as a win and quickly walked down the stairs and out of the lecture hall.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“the hell is that?” was how, his _friend_ , seungmin greeted him upon his entrance into the day shack.

 

the place was a little battered, small. it had two rectangular tables and three chairs to its name. the counter was maned by the nicest woman minho knew, second only to his own mother, and it served the oddest milkshakes minho had ever had. he could see seungmin sipping on one that was called ‘sunday funday’, named for being filled with strawberries and cream and being cheaper on a sunday. seungmin got it almost every day.

 

minho took a seat across from him and slumped in defeat, “a proble that’s what.”

 

seungmin blinked at the answer and then passed minho an iced coffee, "here.”

 

minho thanked him and took the drink gratefully. he sipped on it and let seungmin inspect him. he already knew what the younger boy was going to say. hyunjin might have been oblivious enough to fall for minho’s lies, and the boy from before too much of a stranger, but seungmin was smart and he would call minho out on it if he even thought about lying to him.

 

“so,” seungmin began, pausing to find the words. he took a sip of his own milkshake, “bang chan, huh.”

 

minho dropped his head onto the table, “i can explain.”

 

seungmin patted his head consolingly, “yeah?”

 

“it was an accident. i took it with me by accident when he lent it to me because i was out in the cold in just a cotton tshirt like an idiot.” minho muttered, lips mushed onto the table. seungmin understood him just fine.

 

“you’re an idiot.”

 

“yeah.”

 

“but it’s okay.”

 

minho sat up. “okay?” he scrunched his eyebrows together, processing seungmin’s words.

 

“okay,” seungmin repeated, finishing off his drink. minho stared at the empty plastic cup and speculated if it would be this easy explaining it to hyunjin. or maybe his best friend was just too dramatic to take news like that calmly.

 

almost as if he could read his thoughts, seungmin asked him, “does hyunjinie know?”

 

“no,” minho sighed. he looked around for the menus that were usually stacked up on the tables. day shack was the only place on campus that did breakfast pancakes and he was getting kind of hungry.

 

“i’m not going to tell him, either. i just need to return this jacket.”

 

minho’s eyes lit up as he caught sight of the a4 card near the floor of the second table. he got up to retrieve it, missing what seungmin had said.

 

“sorry, what was that?”

 

“i said,” seungmin quickly glanced behind him and then back at minho, “do you know how you’re going to do that? last i checked ya’ll weren’t friends.”

 

minho sighed for the nth time that day. he snuggled deeper into the jacket, ignoring seungmin’s raised eyebrow – there was a weird comfort he had gained since putting the jacket on, and he wasn’t about to be shamed into removing it.

 

“no,” he answered finally, pouting, “i haven’t seen him at all since that first time.”

 

a smirk took over seungmin’s face at that, his eyes flashed in amusement. minho narrowed his own at that look. he straightened up involuntarily, back rigged. he’d seen that look in the mirror sometimes and he knew it meant trouble.

 

“what?” he asked, paranoid.

 

“i think it’s about to be your lucky day, lee minho,” seungmin said, pointing behind him.

 

“what do you mean?” minho followed the direction of seungmin’s finger, face paling at the sight. there he was, bang chan, staring at minho in confusion before a smile slipped onto his face.

 

“hey there!” bang called, hands in the air like a fool even though they were the only ones in the café. his hair was _loose_ and _curly_ – minho was very close to collapsing in his seat. he had his dimples proudly on display too. minho was so focused on them he nearly missed the two boys behind him. dread took over any warm feeling he might have felt at the sight of bang chan. there, standing just a few steps behind bang were ji-something and minho’s worst mistake.

 

the boy he had _lied_ to.

 

bang walked over to minho’s table, his friends following behind him. it wasn’t a long walk and minho had no time at all to prepare for how much nicer bang looked close up, swathed in a sweater instead of a hoodie or his signature leather jacket for a change.

 

 _the jacket you have on right now you utter fool_.

 

minho blushed bright when bang racked his eyes over him and debated whether leaving would decrease his embarrassment or just add to it.

 

“hello,” seungmin – the traitor – greeted the boys, standing up and flashing them a smile. minho wanted to smack it off his face but he also wanted to know why he was _standing up_.

 

bang smiled back before turning to minho and said, softly, “fancy seeing you again.”

 

seungmin shot him a peculiar look out of the corner of his eye which minho was going to _ignore_.

 

“hey.” minho said, now having no toher choice _but_ to look at the three of them. he smiled up at bang.

 

“it’s nice to see you again.” minho said and meant it. bang gave off a weirdly positive energy, like the man was made of the sun or something. it was horribly inconvenient for minho’s poor heart, especially since it was already beating like crazy from the utter absurdity of his current predicament. also, bang’s friend was giving him weird looks and minho was starting to sweat.

 

“you know them, channie-hyung?” ji-something spoke up, voice quick. minho noticed he was sort of bouncing on the balls of his feet and could already tell that the boy would be a headache and a half.

 

 _please don’t say it_ , minho thought desperately. he glared at the lines on his hands, focusing on the sleeves of the leather jacket and wondering if he could burn it with just the power of his gaze. he wished he could. he’d take a burn if it meant getting out of this ridiculous situation.

 

“oh, um, just minho, jisung,” bang replied, “i lent him my jacket a few days ago.”

 

 _someone just take me now._ minho wanted to scream. this was officially the worst day of his life. he could now feel the eyes of both seungmin and bang’s friend on him.

 

“that’s your jacket?” asked a deeper voice. the voice of minho’s lies.

 

“uh, yeah,” bang’s voice sounded a bit odd to minho, but he was too focused on trying to communicate with seungmin that they needed to _leave_ to analyse it. he wanted out, and he wanted out now.

 

seungmin, the angel, spoke up, “actually, minho-hyung was telling me he wanted to ask you something,” he walked towards the door, “why don’t we let them talk for a bit?”

 

 _scratch that_ ,  _seungmin’s the devil_.

 

minho tried to catch seungmin’s eye, to beg him not to leave him alone like this, but seungmin was already walking away, leading bang’s two friends out of the door. jisung – he _finally_ knew his name and yet what should have been a victory was overshadowed by his crippling defeat at the hands of bang chan himself – was following seungmin excitedly, seemingly content to leave his friend with minho. the other one, he was slower, turning around just as minho had looked up and catching his eye.

 

he gave minho a long look that he could not for the life of him decipher, and then walked away.

 

“wonderful.” minho muttered, suddenly stressed beyond belief.

 

“sorry, what was that?” bang smiled at him in question, taking seungmin’s seat with ease.

 

 _stop smiling you’ve ruined my life_ , minho thought uncharitably, even as despair was slowly seeping out of his body and instead, he was warming up with a foreign emotion. with the cause of his distress slowly getting further and further away, he felt more comfortable.

 

“what brings you here?” minho smiled at bang, and felt it drop as bang motioned towards the cup of coffee in his hand. _right, duh._

 

minho let out a laugh to cover up his embarrassment and figured now was as good a time as any to give bang his jacket back, “here,” he got up from his seat, taking the heavy jacket off and handing it back.

 

“you can keep it.” bang replied almost instantly. he looked shocked at his own words, as if they weren’t meant to come out. minho was oddly pleased by them, nonetheless.

 

“it’s okay, it doesn’t really fit me.”

 

“i thought you looked nice in it.” bang murmured, putting the jacket on. minho flushed at that.

 

 _what’s wrong with you, you get complimented all the time, chill out_. minho reprimanded himself, taking in a deep breath to reorient himself. he didn’t know why but being with bang left him off balance. like a top just a second away from stopping.

 

minho nodded his thanks, sipping the last drops of his drink and looking at the empty cup in despair. there went his only distraction. now he had to find a way to engage and with someone who he barely knew.

 

bang glanced from minho to the glass and then back up at minho, “want a refill?”

 

minho blinked at him, “no, that’s okay, thank you.”

 

bang nodded and leaned back into his seat, looking much more comfortable now that he had his jacket back. it looked good on him, minho thought, even with the unorthodox outfit underneath. the clash seemed more fitting than if he’d been decked in something sharper. the beige sweater and black jeans made him look approachable despite the fierceness of the jacket.

 

his hair with that smile of his was a bonus, too.

 

“i like your hair,” minho said.

 

“can i have your number?” bang asked at the same time.

 

minho blinked at bang, momentarily caught off, before sending him the sleaziest grin he could, “oh?”

 

_this could be fun._

 

bang looked slightly mortified. it was entertaining. minho wanted to see how red he could get so he leaned closer, hands framing his face in a way he knew made him look pretty.

 

“that’s brave of you,” minho said, looking bang directly in the eye. it proved too much for him, however, because the boy slowly looked away, red peeking through the top of his sweater. _adorable_ , minho thought fondly.

 

“i’m just joking, here.” minho motioned for bang’s phone, hands outstretched. the statement didn’t ease any of the blonde’s embarrassment, his face still a shade of pink that would’ve clashed against minho’s own sweater. but bang passed his phone over, staying silent.

 

minho punched in his number and gave himself a call, saving himself onto bang’s phone before saving the boy’s number onto his own phone.

 

 **minho (the cute one):** hiya ;)

 

he sent off the text, extremely satisfied and handed bang his phone back. bang took it with a shy grin, “thanks.”

 

“no problem.” minho replied.

 

“so,” bang started and then immediately stopped, seeming to rethink whatever he was about to ask. he eyes shifted from minho’s face to the glass window and then back again. the smile dimmed a notch, “how are you?”

 

minho was intrigued.

 

“good, what were you going to ask me before?” minho asked, hiding a smile behind his hand as bang stuttered out a denial.

 

“it’s okay, i won’t be offended bang.”

 

if it was possible bang looked a little shocked – by what though, minho had no idea – and hunched his shoulders, “sorry, it was really nothing, i was just thinking.”

 

minho blinked at the odd sense of déjà vu that statement brought but ignored it. instead he stared at bang’s face, wondering why he felt oddly displaced. different to how he normally felt with bang, this time he didn’t like it, a loss of control with the conversation he didn’t understand.

 

“right,” minho said, looking around the café. he wasn’t sure what to say now. he felt oddly like he’d said something wrong. he turned to bang, about to ask him.

 

he didn’t have a chance to. seungmin chose that moment to stroll back in through the café.

 

“hello.” he greeted joyfully, as if he hadn’t left minho to defend himself all alone like the traitor he was, “what’s with the atmosphere?”

 

 _oh my god_ , minho gaped at his friend, stunned at his audacity.

 

when no one answered him he just continued on, “well, whatever,” he turned to bang, “your friends are waiting for you outside i think.”

 

bang’s phone pinged from where it was resting on the table. cutting through the tension abruptly. minho felt his breath leave him, not knowing why he was holding it in to begin with.

 

“yeah that’s probably them,” bang said, smiling up at seungmin. he got up, offering seungmin his previous seat and then turned to minho, “it was nice seeing you, lee.”

 

with a final wave at minho he was off.

 

seungmin waved a hand in front of minho’s face, “earth to minho, what the heck was that?”

 

minho’s gaze followed bang as he left, the door swinging shut behind him with a loud noise. he frowned, “i have no idea.”

 

_why’d he call me lee?_

 

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im,,,, idk how I feel about this chapter,,,it's hard to write slice-of-life scenes,,,


	3. The Roof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “i was wondering if we could sit down? my legs are starting to hurt.”
> 
> chan’s eyes widened and he immediately let go of minho.
> 
> “wait!” minho scrambled for chan as soon as his hand let go, screeching in his blind panic, “don’t let go, fool!”
> 
>  
> 
> (or the one where there's maybe progress)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was lowkey fun to write

 

 

_it was nice seeing you, lee._

 

_lee._

“lee,” minho murmured to himself, sat down in front of his apartment door like a hoodlum because he’d forgotten his keys inside his room. the floor was cold and hard against his butt, unrelenting.

 

he’d seen bang chan a lot after that day at the ‘day shack’, almost as if the world had decided it was his punishment for not realizing he was a colossal idiot.

 

 

 

(“hyung,” hyunjin had let out the biggest sigh, bordering on a groan when minho had told him about the day.

 

“what.” minho had asked, still bitterly confused about bang’s change in behaviour and eating it out via cheese pops. they were so good.

 

hyunjin had eyed his cheesy fingers in distaste before grabbing the packet straight out of his hands and throwing it in the bin, too fast for minho to react.

 

“what the fuck,” minho had spat, mood falling at an alarming pace, “was that for?”

 

hyunjin had merely sighed again, as if it was _minho_ that was an inconvenience, and said simply, as if it explained everything, “you called him bang.”

 

minho had continued to stare at hyunjin, what did calling bang by his name have to do with –

 

 

_oh._

minho had gaped, looking at his cheese laden fingers in shock. he had. he’d been referring to bang as bang because they were merely strangers who had had one singular conversation, but bang had been referring to minho by his first name and smiling down at him like he counted minho as his _friend_.

 

“oh.” minho had said out loud, sad.

 

hyunjin had merely hugged him, and whispered, “it’s okay, just go talk to him.”)

 

 

 

that had happened a few days ago. minho had not only _not_ spoken to bang – “chan.” minho spoke into existence. he _wanted_ to be chan’s friend. his heart panged wrong at the thought, but minho ignored it. baby steps – but it seemed as if they were both ignoring one another anytime they ran into each other. which seemed to be happening a lot.

 

he’d even seen chan at the university convenience store – although they’d both looked at each other, strained smiles smudging their faces beyond recognition, and then quickly looked away, not a single word exchanged in the tense silence between them –  which minho had found particularly strange since there were seven stores around campus for each of the departments and minho had been in the _science_ one at the time.

 

minho frowned, maybe chan had friends in that department. he didn’t know. his frown grew deeper the more he realised he didn’t know bang chan _at all_. he knew that chan was smart – the university wouldn’t have accepted him otherwise – and he knew he did something with music, because _everybody_ had heard the rumour about how he’d won the year end showcase as a first year performing his own original song, something that hadn’t happened in the last two decades in the university.

 

but all of this was secondary information. information minho had got from other people. hell, the last one he’d gotten from _hyunjin_.

 

minho sighed tiredly. he needed to fix whatever had happened between them. but all the advice his friends had given him involved _initiating conversation_. which he absolutely was _not_ going to do. bang had asked him for his number, he should be the one to text him.

 

 

(when he’d told seungmin that the boy had kicked him out of his room and denied him dinner.)

 

 

chan wasn’t the only problem he had.

 

minho looked down at the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. he’d been given it at the end of professor min’s lecture and told to come see him sometime next week. the words written in red were jarring, but what hurt was the depressingly average grade he’d gotten, numbers written in black and then overlaid with red so deep it looked as if it was congealed blood. minho fought down a shiver at the thought of how his professor would get about doing that and slid down even lower against his door, head hitting the wood with a dull thump.

 

if he didn’t bring his grade back up next semester in professor min’s class, he’d lose his scholarship.

 

minho breathed out and then in and tried his best to ignore how shaky it was. he wasn’t going to cry, not outside here where everyone could see him anyway.

 

his phone pinged with a message after he’d gotten his breathing under control and shoved the offending piece of paper into his back pack.

 

 

**seungmin:** _i’ll be there in half an hour, think you can manage?_

 

 

minho stared at his phone in confusion. seungmin didn’t live with him, which meant he didn’t have the key to his flat, so why would he –

 

 

**seungmin:** _hyunjin had to run to his last lecture, but he left his keys with me._

 

 

_oh_. that made sense.

 

as he was typing a reply back, his phone pinged again in rapid succession.

 

“woah,” minho muttered under his breath, “where’s the fire.”

 

there was no fire. it was his group chat for professor song’s class.

 

minho banged his head against the door and let out a frustrated groan. he’d ended up with mina, jieun, hyeejin and soobin for the project, and while he knew mina, and had seen soobin work hard on other projects in their course, hyeejin was known for getting notoriously bad grades and not doing _any_ work and jieun agreed with whatever mina said without an opinion of her own.

 

minho hated people like that.

 

 

**group name: group #4**

**mina:** _is tomorrow @ 4 okay with everyone?_

**jien:** _yup! x_

**soobin:** yeah that’s okay

 

**mina:** _minho? hyeejin?_

 

**minho:** _yeah that should be fine._

 

 

he closed the chat, turning the notifications off and went back to his chat with seungmin.

 

 

**minho:** _see you soon :p_

 

 

minho sent seungmin an affirmative, promising him that he’d stay still until the younger boy arrived, and then went back to silently sitting on the floor. ten minutes later, after he’d gotten strange and pitying looks from a pair of girls, and a boy from his tuesday afternoon class, minho decided that he’d had enough.

 

he got up and looked down the hallway to his right. he knew that the other end led to a dead end, and the stairs only went up to the top floor, but he also knew there was a roof somewhere and that there was a fire escape near hyunjin’s side of the flat. the only problem was that the stairs were actually just a rickety metal ladder that slotted down from the roof to the second-floor balcony – except students were not allowed access to the roof.

 

minho bit his lip and contemplated his next action. he knew both the cleaning staff and the landlord weren’t on the premises today, he’d gone down to their office to ask for a spare key as soon as he’d realised he’d locked himself in, but all he’d found was a note taped to their door explaining that they were on leave for a few days.

 

seungmin had sent him confused and incredulous messages when he’d sent a picture of note to their group chat with hyunjin, but hyunjin had merely replied with _cheap rent_ , and that was the end of that.

 

so, with any authority figures out of the way, minho only had to worry about a) possibly hurting himself and b) seungmin getting to their flat before him. he was more worried about the latter than the former, but he didn’t give it much thought. there was a very likely chance he wouldn’t even be able to _find_ a way up to the roof.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

minho stared at the sign in confusion, and then looked up at the hatch. he got up onto his toes and pushed against the metal, watching with fascination as it gave way and moved up. it was unlocked.

 

_is this safe?_

 

minho studied his surroundings, looking for something to stand on. he’d found, miraculously, a way to the roof, but it was too high for him to attempt to just climb, his fingers barely grazing the sides – he’d need a boost up somehow.

 

his phone pinged in his back pocket as minho went searching around the back of the hallway – he could’ve sworn he’d seen a bucket somewhere – minho ignored the pinging as it happened a second time and picked the bucket up from where it was nestled against the door of the supply closet for the third floor and the wall to keep it open. he hesitated as the door slammed shut behind him, the noise stark against the quiet of the afternoon. most of the students were out right now so he hadn’t met any disturbance on his quest, but he had a feeling the bucket had been put there for a reason.

 

he took his phone out, placing the bucket below the latch upside down, while he thought over his plan again. did he want to keep this up?

 

he blinked down at his screen, confused. it was seungmin.

 

 

**seungmin:** _i’m so sorry! i’m gonna be another 30 mins!_

**seungmin:** _stupid joonhyuck!_

minho didn’t know who joonhyuck was, but this was a sign. a sign that he should continue forth. with a determined nod, he tucked his phone into his back pocket, making sure it was secure, and then placed one foot on the bucket to test his weight.

 

the bucket didn’t bend, which was a good sign. once he got both feet on it, he slowly opened the hatch, it was one that swung open outwards onto, what minho was assuming was, the roof so the clatter of metal on concrete surprised him. he jolted and almost fell as the bucket slipped slightly, holding onto the side of the hatch and letting out a string of curses.

 

“fuck,” minho hissed, breathing deeply. his heart was racing from the scare.

 

when he had his breathing under control once again, he looked up and proceeded to let out a terrified shriek as bang chan’s face popped out from the side.

 

“shit!” chan grabbed minho’s hand as he fell, effectively holding him up as the bucket went sliding down the hall when minho kicked it in fright and crashed against the wall with a clatter. minho winced at the noise but was otherwise occupied holding onto chan’s hands lest he fall.

 

“help me.” he cried, dangling.

 

chan nodded his head, “of course, don’t worry,” and in one swift motion, pulled minho up and onto the other side as if he weighed nothing.

 

“uh…” minho stared at chan, wide eyed. chan just smiled at him, helping him stand up and pulling him closer and away from the hole on the floor he’d come from.

 

“you’re here?” minho blurted out, brain to mouth filter momentarily disappearing.

 

chan’s smile dropped, and he let go of minho’s hand, taking a step back – minho tried not to miss the warmth of his hand in his – before scratching the back of his neck, “yeah, i live round here.”

 

minho nodded, staring at his vacant hand. he shook his head lightly and stuffed it in his back pocket, rocking back on the balls of his feet and looking around, “this is the infamous roof then?”

 

and it seemed to be. the roof was a big rectangular floor of concrete, with three of its sides covered in barbed wire, and the back open with nothing placed there for safety’s sake. minho eyed it with fright, anyone could just fall off of there. there was a breeze blowing, cool on his hot skin. he was sweating.

 

minho gulped, taking a step back and away from the edge despite it being far away from him, and forgetting that he was dangerously close to the open hatch behind him.

 

“woah!” chan rushed to grab him, pulling him snug against his chest. minho stilled, one of his arms in his back pocket and the other stuck in between him and chan. it was an awkward position to be in, especially with how hot he was running right now, but it was also strangely – pleasant. minho flushed, burrowing his face into chan’s neck just to hide himself.

 

chan stiffened underneath him and slowly pushed away, still keeping minho close. minho took his hand out of his jeans and gripped onto chan’s waist when his line of sight made contact with the edge of the roof again.

 

“i’m sorry, i-i-i…” he trailed off, unsure how to explain himself. he was starting to shiver, and his knees were growing weak.

 

_fuck, fuck fuckfuckfuck – why is it so high?_

chan was still under his arms, but he slowly relaxed, not fully, but enough that minho no longer felt bad for holding onto him. he was a warm anchor, and, as chan brought the hand not clutching his wrist up to his back to pat him, minho sighed softly, breath shaking minutely. chan felt strong, and the way he’d lifted him so cleanly before reassured him of the safety of being in this position – chan wouldn’t let him fall. he didn’t really know chan, but he knew that.

 

“you okay?” chan murmured into his hair, hands rubbing slow circles onto his back.

 

“no.”

 

chan let out a soft laugh, low and sweet, “right, sorry, stupid question. i should’ve asked why you’re not okay, afraid of heights?”

 

“yes,” minho replied, and then added quickly because he didn’t feel like speaking with his breathing so shaky, “thanks.”

 

“no problem, dude.” chan said with a ruffle of his hair. minho wanted to smack his hand off but a part of him wanted to lean in deeper. chan smelt like his jacket – which, made sense, but minho wasn’t thinking right – and he liked that. he liked that a lot.

 

after standing there for a while, not moving, minho’s legs began to ache, but he didn’t think he could let go.

 

“chan?” minho asked, softly, unsure.

 

there was a pause, stilted and surprised. it stayed for so long minho began to shift away, removing his face from where it was nestled against chan’s neck and shoulders. he turned his face to look at chan’s and blinked at the slightly dazed look in his eyes.

 

chan snapped out of it when he made eye contact with him, shaking his head a little and smiling, bright and blinding, “yeah? sorry?”

 

minho chuckled at the unnecessary apology, “i was wondering if we could sit down? my legs are starting to hurt.”

 

chan’s eyes widened and he immediately let go of minho.

 

“wait!” minho scrambled for chan as soon as his hand let go, screeching in his blind panic,  “don’t let go, fool!”

 

chan cursed and grabbed him, both hands now wrapped around his waist securely with minho’s hands around his neck, “sorry, shit, this okay?”

 

minho blinked at how close their faces were to each other. this close he could count the individual eyelashes on his face – hell, if he wanted, he could lean down just a little and kiss the boy. he had nice lips, plump and pink, cupid’s bow pronounced in a way that made them particularly appealing.

 

minho felt a blush crawl up his neck at the thought. where had that come from.

 

he didn’t let go of chan, though.

 

“yeah, thanks, t-this is fine.” he cursed internally at the stutter, heart beating rapidly in his chest from the brief scare and making it hard to speak.

 

chan didn’t seem to notice, just nodded his head and began to sit them down, cross legged so that minho was slotted over his legs, practically straddling the older boy.

 

minho gaped at their position for a second before shrugging softly, if chan was okay with it who was he to complain, his safety was his main priority – plus, he noted with amusement, chan’s ears were slowly turning redder by the second, so maybe he wasn’t so immune to the way minho’s thighs were pressed in snuggly against his waist.

 

“so, uh,” chan coughed, looking anywhere except at minho, “why are you up here?”

 

minho watched him with a smirk, amused now that he wasn’t scared for his life – the fear was still there, especially when he looked at the back of the roof, although he was trying desperately not to do that and chan was a welcome distraction, but it was muted now, minho could ignore it in favour of other things.

 

“i locked myself out of my flat, and i got bored and tired waiting for my friend – seungmin, you met him at day shack, remember? – yeah so i decided i could just climb down the roof using the fire escape and jump into my bedroom window,” he scoffed at his foolishness, “completely forgot i was deathly afraid of heights.”

 

chan didn’t laugh, which minho greatly appreciated. chan was nice. strong arms, nice legs, cute smile, minho appreciated _a lot_.

 

“and now i’m here.”

 

“now you’re here.” chan repeated, smiling stupidly. minho hated how it made his heart race a little, especially to see it so close up and notice how the dimple on his right cheek was more pronounced than the left – it was so stupid. bang chan was so stupid, he thought angrily, feeling a smile of his own blossom in response to chan’s.

 

his feelings were a mess and he barely knew this boy.

 

_get a grip, lee minho_. he chided himself.

 

“what are you doing here?” he asked, not wanting to dwell on his heart.

 

chan just shrugged, arms shifting and brushing against minho’s sides, leaving warmth in their wake. minho shivered involuntarily. chan blinked up at him – and wow, minho wasn’t expecting that – and shifted them closer against each other, previous embarrassment forgotten, “sorry, are you cold?”

 

“you apologise too much,” minho murmured, not answering the question.

 

chan shrugged again. he did that a lot, minho noted, eyes roaming over his face. he had _such_ a nice face, minho couldn’t understand why people thought badly of him.

 

“wanna play a game?” minho asked out of the blue, grinning down at chan.

 

chan raised his eyebrows in surprise, “what? a game?”

 

minho nodded his vigorously, more excited now, “yeah! like twenty questions.”

 

chan tilted his head a little, biting his lip, before he nodded his agreement.

 

“okay!” minho laughed, grinning, lips stretched wide, he loved games. 

 

chan smiled at him, dimples growing deeper, “who starts?”

 

“go ahead.”

 

“right,” chan looked a little nervous, eyes darting all over the roof as he tried to come up with a question. his lips were pursed, minho stared at them.

 

“ah! what’s your favourite genre of music?” chan asked, looking proud.

 

minho scoffed lightly, of course a music student would ask him that. “hip hop.” he answered easily, “my turn.”

 

“wait, don’t i have to answer too?” chan asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

 

minho shut his mouth, head tilting in consideration. that was how hyunjin liked to play the game, meant it would take longer, you’d get more information, and – well, minho didn’t mind spending time with chan and getting to know him more. they’d even managed to leave behind whatever weird atmosphere they’d had around each other since that day at the day shack.

 

“okay,” minho acquiesced, “what’s yours?”

 

“hip hop.” chan answered with a grin, eyes crinkling shut with mirth. minho didn’t know why that was funny, but he’d decided that he liked seeing chan smile so he didn’t mind.

 

“my turn for sure now,” minho said, and then hesitated, “are any of the rumours about you true?”

 

chan’s smile dimmed slightly and his hands loosened from around minho. although he didn’t let go completely minho felt the loss. maybe he shouldn’t have asked that. he bit his lip, starting to regret his question the more chan stayed quiet and didn’t look at him.

 

minho let out a strained laugh, taking his words back, “sorry i’ll –“

 

“some of them.” chan interrupted. minho’s mouth clicked shut at the unexpected answer.

 

“oh,” he breathed, unsure of what he was supposed to do with that information. _which ones?_ he wanted to ask, his body buzzing with the need to know, but before either of them could say anything the silence was broken by the high-pitched ringing of his phone, shrill and loud in the space between them.

 

“ah,” minho shot up, reaching for his phone. chan let go off him completely, hands falling to the roof floor to hold him up as he leaned back, watching minho with a strange look in his eyes. minho turned away, looking down at his phone. it was hyunjin.

 

“hello?” minho answered the phone.

 

“ _hyung? where are you?_ ” hyunjin sounded a little worried, out of breath, like he was running.

 

minho frowned, “i’m home, waiting for seungmin to come with the keys.”

 

“ _fuck! hyung! seungmin’s been sending me messages for the past fifteen minutes non-stop because he couldn’t find you._ ”

 

_why didn’t he call me?_ minho thought, but let it slide, knowing how seungmin got when he was panicked, “sorry jinnie, i’ll call him right away.”

 

hyunjin huffed loudly on the other end, “ _you better, and you both owe me dinner for the next week_.”

 

minho rolled his eyes, frown replaced with a fond smile, “yeah, okay, whatever.”

 

“ _i’m serious, hyung!_ ” hyunjin threatened, before ending the call.

 

minho rolled his eyes again, the friends he had. he turned back to chan, “sorry about that, i’ve got to go find my friend before he calls the police.”

 

chan’s features turned concerned, “is everything alright?”

 

minho waved his worry away, “yeah, he’s just paranoid”

 

chan just looked confused now, but minho didn’t have the time to explain, his phone began to ring again, seungmin’s display picture beaming up at him. he didn’t answer it, instead sending the younger boy a message to give him a minute.

 

he pocketed his phone and looked from the hatch to chan, biting his lip as his nerves came back full-force, “could you please…” he trailed off, motioning from chan to the hatch, one hand still wrapped loosely around his neck.

 

chan nodded silently and got up, moving minho’s arm off and holding it in his hand. he walked over to the hatch and bent down, then he turned to minho, “ready?”

 

minho looked away from where he was staring at their interlinked hands and nodded, “yeah.”

 

“great,” chan said. he let go of minho’s hand – ignoring minho’s gasp – and jumped down the hatch, landing with a soft thump and then stood up, arms outstretched as if he was about to catch someone, “jump.”

 

“wait – what!?” minho shrieked, bending down and glaring at chan.

 

chan merely stood there, smiling serenely.

 

“i hate you.” minho hissed.

 

“i just need you to trust me.” chan shot back.

 

minho gulped, judging the distance – did he trust chan? he wasn’t sure, but as he looked at chan’s eyes and saw the sincerity in them, the way he looked like he wouldn’t let him fall, the way he’d so easily agreed to minho’s demands because minho was scared, how he’d held him so securely, how he hadn’t been offended by anything minho had said, had answered him truthfully even if he had no obligation to, how minho wanted to see more of chan’s smiles, how he liked being with him, how easily it had felt to be wrapped around him.

 

 

as he thought about all this – minho wanted to.

 

“okay,” minho looked down at chan, smile wobbly –

 

and jumped.

 

 

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come talk to me about these dorks on [twitter](https://twitter.com/pakiinnit) :)


	4. books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “what’s wrong?” chan asked, frown sitting oddly on his face. minho didn’t like it, wanted to use his thumbs to smooth out the little crease that appeared on his forehead. he squashed the urge down viciously and told his heart to shut up when chan brushed a hand over his shoulder in greeting. 
> 
>  
> 
> (or the one where minho's having a stressful weekend)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one doesn't have that much minchan ;-; it ran away from me,,,,

it was friday night and minho was stuck in the apartment he shared with hyunjin because he had a massive load of deadlines and absolutely _no_ desire to get drunk. hyunjin called him a spoilsport and then threw glitter on him. seungmin rolled his eyes when minho immediately went to hug the younger boy and spread all his glitter onto him. hyunjin joined in with a laugh and by the time seungmin had to catch his train they were all covered in shimmer.

 

“i can’t believe minnie’s leaving me and you’re not going to come out tonight,” hyunjin huffed, arms crossed and feet shoulder-width apart. the kohl around his eyes would be intimidating if he wasn’t glittering every time he so much as blinked – as it stood, he was just reminding minho of a five-year old’s arts and craft project on black paper.

 

it was strangely endearing so minho pushed hyunjin out of the door and slipped him some extra cash so he could get take-out on his way back.

 

when he turned back around and flopped onto his bed, the emptiness of the apartment started to bother him. too quiet. minho shifted onto his back and grabbed his phone off the bedside table, thumbing through his group chats and contacts for someone to talk to. he didn’t have to wait long before chan’s name slid onto his screen. minho glared before tapping on the contact, zooming in on the picture he’d gotten hyunjin to send him. it was from their first-year department hike. it was grainy and not very clear but chan’s smile was bright and minho loved it a little.

 

he clicked on the little speech bubble, eyes unblinking as the chat he had with chan opened up. the message he had sent from earlier this week was still there, still on read, still unreplied to. minho wondered if chan was one of those people who didn’t reply to messages once they’d seen you and replied in person.

 

with a shrug he began typing.

 

 

            | **you:** _thanks for helping me today :)_

 

not a minute later his phone pinged with a reply, startling minho. he took in a deep breath and then unlocked his phone, swiping up to view the message.

| **bad boi chan:** _hey! it was no problem at all!_

| **you:** _still, i really appreciate it_

| **you:** _i wouldn’t have been able to like come back down if it wasn’t for you ykno lol_

| **you:** _you lowkey saved my life, accept it and let me treat you ;)_

 

            | **bad boi chan:** _ahaha, ok ok, cool_

            | **you:** _i’m free monday, same time as last time if you’re up for brunch?_

| **bad boi chan:** _yh, that’s totally cool with me, ahaha_

            | **you:** _cool :’) see you then!_

            | **bad boi chan:** _see you minho :)_

 

minho re-read the last message over and over again, not knowing why he felt the way he did when he read it. it was a simple text, yet something about bang using his given name, whether he said it or wrote it, hit a little different, made something buzz in his stomach that wasn’t too-unpleasant.

he sent a screenshot of the conversation to the group chat he had with seungmin and hyunjin, and got a reply back from hyunjin almost instantly

 

 

 **group name** : minho’s duckies quack

 

            | **jinnie:** _that’s so fuckign lame_

            | **jinnie:** _whyd dint you just aks to suck his dick_

            | **you:** _jfc jinnie are you already drunk?_

| **jinnie:** _mabe idk_

| **jinnie:** _anywhiy that’s unimpritant_

            | **jinnie:** _what this show i tnat he maybe ieks you too_

| **you:** _what_

 

            | **jinnie:** _hyung! it’s me felix!_

| **jinnie:** _hyung says to tell you that maybe he likes you too!_

| **jinnie:** _hyung? who’s he?_

            | **jinnie:** _hyunjinhyung won’t tell me!_

| **you:** _ffs_

 

_(hwang hyunjin has been removed from the chat)_

 

 

.

 

the next day minho woke up early in the morning, did his morning stretches, and put on his most comfortable hoodie and jeans. he filled a glass of water up and grabbed a croissant from their dining table, and then walked into hyunjin’s room.

 

he found the younger boy sprawled half on his bed and half on his floor. he contemplated pulling the boy up but figured it was revenge for his behaviour yesterday and so minho pulled a pillow free from his bed and slotted it nicely under hyunjin’s head.

 

he replaced the empty glass on the stand with the one in his hand and left, snapping a quick picture before he went.

 

minho put the glass into the sink, warily eyeing the plates haphazardly thrown in, and made a note to clean the dishes when he got back tonight, before grabbing his bag and leaving out the front door. it clicked shut behind him and minho took a deep breath in before bouncing down the stairs and out of the student complex.

 

the bakery near the bus stop was unexpectedly closed today, so he got into the university earlier than planned and bought a coffee and a pack of donuts from the library café. it was disgustingly overpriced coffee, more water than coffee beans, but it did the job well enough.

 

minho took the elevator over to the second floor, bypassing the stairs entirely no matter how dirty the glances he got were – he’d never understood why people assumed that just because the second floor was only two flights of stairs away that he would somehow _not_ take the elevator, it was there for their convenience. the money he paid had to account for something tangible – and reached room five fifteen minutes early.

 

he blinked in surprise when he saw that jieun was already there, hair brushed neatly into a low ponytail and laptop open and ready before her. she looked up when minho entered and put the book she’d been reading back into her bag.

 

“you don’t have to stop, i’m early and i don’t think the others will be here for a while,” minho said, smiling. jieun smiled back but didn’t retrieve her book back out. he shrugged and walked over to the chair across from her and sat down.

 

“have you been waiting long?” minho asked when three minutes had gone by and jieun hadn’t gone back to reading, but instead switched between a state of furiously typing on her phone and staring at minho.

 

jieun startled, as if the question was unexpected and then shook her head vigorously but didn’t otherwise respond. minho fought off the irritation at the lack of a verbal reply and tried again, “have you looked at the reading list yet?”

 

jieun nodded shyly, phone now clutched close to her chest like a lifeline.

 

minho took this as a sign to stop engaging entirely and took his own phone out.

 

he was texting hyunjin and felix a reminder about their rehearsal for the showcase this evening when soobin walked in.

 

“hey guys, sorry i’m late.” soobin apologised, black curly hair flopping onto his eyes and dimples on display. he sent a nod to jieun and took a seat to minho’s left, dropping his bag onto the table between them with a loud thud.

 

minho winced at the noise in the quiet room but soobin didn’t notice, too busy taking out a laptop and a few books, stacking them on top of each other neatly. the title of one caught minho’s eye.

 

“are those from the reading list?” minho asked.

 

soobin paused, looking down at minho, “yeah, i figured we might as well get a start on it.”

 

minho nodded in approval and jieun flushed, eyeing the book in her hand, she spoke softly, shyly, “i’ve got paradise lost,” she held up the book.

 

minho threw her a smile and she beamed back before blushing darker and breaking eye contact. mihno’s smile dimmed but he was distracted once again when soobin spoke up, listing the books he had and the ones he didn’t.

 

“some of them are weirdly obscure,” he complained, finally sitting down, “the library staff says they don’t have it and if they do order it, they won’t get them until a week after our project’s due.”

 

minho frowned, “do we need all the books on the list?”

 

soobin shot him a strange look, “no, but it’s good to know where to find the books in case we do.”

 

minho shrugged, unbothered. while books were expensive to buy, if they were really struggling a student could request a pdf copy from the professors.

 

soobin rolled his eyes at minho’s indifference and went back to detailing which books he personally thought they would need. at one point he threw a scathing look jieun’s way and then started droning on about how ‘prose is vastly superior to poetry’. minho caught jieun’s attention when soobin wasn’t looking and exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. it caused jieun to giggle and soobin to throw her a dirty look.

 

before soobin could ask her what she found so funny, mina rushed through the door, flustered and sweating.

 

minho got up and out of his chair, looking at mina in concern, “everything okay, mina?”

 

jieun was already by her side, offering her a water bottle and helping her sit down on the seat to her left. mina smiled at them both, taking the offered water bottle and putting her bag down onto the seat next to jieun.

 

“i’m fine,” mina laughed, a little breathless still, “i thought i’d completely missed the meeting start time but i was just being silly.”

 

minho nodded in understanding but soobin didn’t look sympathetic, eyes narrowed and mouth firmly in a line. it was so different from the soobin he normally saw out of class that minho almost got whiplash.

 

“nice excuse.” he said coldly.

 

mina ignored him, smiling and sitting next to minho as if soobin hadn’t even spoken.

 

“i hope you haven’t started yet.” she said.

 

minho glanced between a seething soobin and an unruffled mina in confusion. he tried to look at jieun for an explanation, but she had gone completely still, nose buried in paradise lost.

 

“no,” minho turned to mina, “we were just discussing the reading list.”

 

“oh!” mina gasped, riffling through her bag and pulling out two books, “i brought some with me.”

 

 _am i the only one who didn’t?_ minho thought with despair.

 

“poems, i’m guessing?” soobin accused derisively. mina bristled but didn’t otherwise react, passing one book to jieun and one to minho. he looked down at the book in confusion, it didn’t look like a classic. a red sleek cover, depicting odd swirls and patterns, no writing on either the front or the back, the only indication of what it could be was the name of the author neatly printed onto the spine in black ink ‘mary elizabeth braddon’.

 

he recognized the name, however, and sent mina a small smile, impressed, “no, not a poem.”

 

soobin glared at the book, as if offended and started tapping away on his laptop, “should we get started then?”

**.**

it was almost five when they decided to call it a day.

 

minho stretched out his aching muscles from having to sit still for so long and wished desperately for an aspirin. hyeejin never ended up showing up and all messages and calls sent to her remained unread and unanswered. couple that with the strange animosity between soobin and mina as well as jieun’s reluctance to get too involved in the project – whether that was due to her shyness or mina’s attendance, minho wasn’t really sure – it all added up into a giant headache that was made worse by the hunger gnawing at his stomach.

 

he scrolled through his phone, the chat he had with chan still opened up. the sight of it sent his heart racing, like he’d somehow blinked and found himself balancing on a tightrope – exhilarating and terrifying. weird. he let out a small sigh and swiped off, searching through their university app for places to eat. rehearsal wasn’t for another hour and he was not willing to spend the money for the bus home only to come right back.

 

with a self-satisfied nod he clicked on the directions to a café seungmin had sent him weeks ago to try and –

 

“hey!”

 

minho startled, looking up abruptly and taking a quick step back lest he run into mina. mina who was standing uncomfortably close to him. he looked from her to jieun, a little way behind, and raised his eyebrow in question. soobin had left already, why hadn’t they.

 

mina tilted her head, and bit her lip, “we did a raincheck on that lunch date right?”

 

 _what_.

 

“what?” minho asked.

 

“from monday, silly! wanna come out for lunch?”

 

“right now?”

 

mina rolled her eyes, turning back to jieun briefly, hands displayed in a _what can you do_ sort of gesture, “yeah! come on!”

 

looking at jieun got him nothing so minho reluctantly agreed. mina either didn’t notice or didn’t seem to mind because she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. if minho wasn’t so uncomfortable with the easy skin ship he’d be impressed.

 

“right, lead the way.” he said, slipping his hand out of hers. mina looked back with a pout but quickly recovered by linking arms with jieun and walking out.

 

she walked downstairs to the café attached to their library, it was big and glossy, with wide windows and soft sofas. minho dropped his bag onto one of them, reclining into the softness with a sigh. he relished in it, despite the looks jieun shot him, he was going to enjoy the only good thing about this wretched café while he could.

 

mina rattled off her and jieun’s orders, asking minho what he wanted and then before he could even think to answer, shot off a suggestion to the waiter for him. the waiter looked like he wasn’t really there, eyes rimmed red and features slackened – so minho wasn’t surprised when he didn’t catch the brief shake of his head.

 

jieun did.

 

she caught minho’s eye, shot him a small look of apology, and then she stopped speaking entirely. half an hour went by with mina talking and asking questions and interrupting minho every time he tried to ask something about the project or talk to jieun. jieun spent the entire time nursing her hot chocolate and looking down. it was eerie and weird and minho did not like it.

jieun left as soon as her drink was done, excusing herself politely and skittering away. minho watched her go and then turned to mina, about to excuse himself as well – he could afford to spend thirty minutes outside the dance studio rather than here.

 

he got up, “right, i should get going too.”

 

“go out with me.”

 

minho froze, hands outstretched comically where they were reaching for his bag, “excuse me?”

 

mina looked a juxtaposition of nervous and confident. minho wasn’t sure exactly which one she was really feeling, and which one was the act she was putting on.

 

“go out with me.” she repeated, and then quickly added, “please? one date?”

 

 _shit_. minho looked from mina to his bag to the exit. he couldn’t really leave without giving her an answer, but he also wasn’t sure if he could just reject her. he had a feeling it would make the next few group meetings almost unbearable and he couldn’t have that. he thought back to how he’d asked felix about advice last week, after hyunjin had told him to just point-blank reject mina.

 

 _what’s the worst that could happen, hyung?_ was what felix had said, smiling as minho helped him stretch –

 

“okay.” minho nodded, hands tightening on his strap as he edged backwards.

 

mina beamed up at him, smile large as she shot up, “great! this’ll be great, i’ll text you the details!” –

 

minho smiled with no teeth as he remembered how hyunjin had snorted at felix right after he’d said that.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

when minho’s hand collided with someone else’s as he was about to grab the _only_ copy of ‘a sicilian romance: the analysis of the parody’ in the university library, he decided then and there that life was unforgiving and out to spite him particularly. when he looked up and locked eyes with the boy from his monday morning class, he nearly screeched out loud.

 

“look dude –“

 

“i really need this –“

 

they both stopped instantly and then glared at each other. hands a mere breadth away from the hardback book, it was too thick to just grab and run, and too expensive to physically fight over in case one of them ripped it, so minho had no choice but to stay still.

 

a part of minho told him to just share the book, they both needed it for the same class, but something about changbin and the look in his eyes just rubbed minho the wrong way. he was suddenly on alert, hackles raised, stance stable. he felt oddly wired when changbin flexed his arms, muscles bulging, and then raised a singular eyebrow. minho tilted his head, smiled sickly sweet. there was no way he was leaving without this book.

 

they stayed like that for too long, because the librarian walked over to them and smiled stiffly, asking if they needed any help. they both turned around in unison, bowing respectfully and shaking their heads in the negative. mrs park eyed them with narrow eyes, suspicion turning her smile into a slight grimace for a second before she straightened it out, walking away with a warning not to loiter too long.

 

minho turned back around abruptly, hands flying towards the spine of the book. he was expecting changbin to fight him when he hugged the book close, huffing a little with the weight of it, but the boy wasn’t looking at him, instead he was waving at someone behind minho.

 

minho threw a glance behind his shoulder in confusion, and his mouth formed a little ‘o’ when he recognized who it was.

 

“chan!” minho grinned when the boy finally noticed them, waving from the other side of the library and jogging over.

 

minho was so focused on chan’s approach that he almost missed the hand changbin tried to sneak around _his_ book. “hey!” he snapped, turning his body away.

 

“lee, come on, i really need to finish professor kim’s assignment, it’s due in _four_ days.” changbin looked a little desperate, eyes glistening suspiciously. minho took a step back, afraid the younger would start crying, or something.

 

“i need it too.” minho argued, biting his lip. he got changbin’s struggle, the book was expensive on its own, but with the cd explaining some of the author’s personal opinions on the comparison between austen and radcliffe’s novels, well – it was better left unsaid that a mere english student just could not afford it.

 

“what’s wrong?” chan asked, frown sitting oddly on his face. minho didn’t like it, wanted to use his thumbs to smooth out the little crease that appeared on his forehead. he squashed the urge down viciously and told his heart to shut up when chan brushed a hand over his shoulder in greeting.

 

 

(he gave changbin a hug and minho was _not_ jealous.)

 

 

minho began to speak but changbin cut him off. he frowned, he was getting really tired of people just refusing to let him speak today.

 

“channie-hyung help me,” changbin pouted at chan, eyes wide and imploring. chan took a step back, unsure, eyes going from changbin to minho to changbin again.

 

“what’s up?” he asked.

 

“i need that book.” changbin said, pointing at the book _minho_ was _holding_. minho tightened his grip, the cover rough against his fingers, and glared.

 

chan smiled softly, “can’t you get another one binnie?”

 

 _binnie?_ minho’s eyes lit up as he put that information away for later. changbin either didn’t notice or didn’t care, glaring at chan now, “no, this is the only copy left in the library, hyung.”

 

chan nodded as if he understood, but minho had a feeling that with the way his eyes were glittering with amusement he didn’t really.

 

minho rolled his eyes and stepped in, “look, how about we share?”

 

changbin turned the glare his way. minho straightened up to his full height and looked down his nose at him. changbin deflated and nodded his agreement, stomping off to a table near the back.

 

chan let out a surprised laugh, “he must like you!”

 

minho didn’t understand how he’d get that impression, but he wasn’t about to correct him. he watched the way chan’s eyes crinkled in the corners and focused so he could commit the look to memory.

 

chan stopped laughing when minho was silent for too long and caught him staring.

 

“uh, i’m looking forward to monday.” he blurted out, blushing.

 

minho smirked, “same, here.”

 

chan smiled at him shyly and ducked his head, motioning towards where changbin was very aggressively looking at them. minho rolled his eyes and nodded, “see you tomorrow, chan,” and walked to where changbin was.

 

he did not miss the smell of hot chocolate after he’d left.

 

 

 

 

 

(he did.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna make sure the next chapter is 90% minchan, it will have their date, mina's date with minho and maybe danc3racha interactions


	5. la lune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “hyung?”
> 
> “get your sticky hands off my shit,” minho scolded, “and, yeah?”
> 
> “got a date?”
> 
> “wouldn’t you like to know.” 
> 
> “but these are your favourite jeans.” hyunjin said, holding them up higher as if to emphasize the point.
> 
> “they are.” seungmin repeated like he was being helpful. he wasn’t.
> 
>  
> 
> (the one where the minchan date starts!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is sossosoosoosso late lmao im a mess
> 
> but!!! I am officially done with second year of uni!! whoop whoop!

“hot chocolate?” hyunjin asked, wrinkling his nose and walking closer. his shirt was on inside out and there was a hole near his collarbone that looked artfully created instead of indicating what it really was – which was the evidence of the moth infestation they’d had a month ago.

 

seungmin had refused to come over for two whole weeks even after they’d had it dealt with.

 

minho nodded as he added in the last mini marshmallow pieces and giggled with satisfaction at his creation. he slid his phone off the microwave to take a picture, “yeah, i was craving it.”

 

“aren’t you going to be late?” seungmin asked. he came out from behind hyunjin and took the seat across from minho. he eyed the mug a little too intensely so minho moved it closer to himself, throwing the packet of marshmallows on the side to hyunjin. he liked snacking on sweet things in the morning but was averse to liquids.

 

which is why minho grew confused when hyunjin pouted at him and asked, “why didn’t you make me one?”

 

“why are you both here?” minho shot back, ignoring both their questions. hyunjin looked mildly offended, staring at minho and then gesturing around the flat and then back at himself, “me?”

 

“ _both_ of you.”

 

“i lib hee.” hyunjin answered with a shrug, mouth stuffing up gradually with marshmallows as he spoke. it was moderately disgusting, especially when a bit of saliva managed to slip past and down his chin.

 

_gross_. minho snapped a picture and then passed him a tissue. he turned to seungmin – who had vanished. minho looked down, his hot chocolate was gone too.

 

“kim seungmin!” minho screeched and ran around hyunjin and into his room, but he wasn’t there, “give it back you thief!”

 

he was in minho’s room, sweetly tucked inside the blankets with _minho’s_ pillows fluffed up behind his head and under one arm, the other holding _his_ mug of hot chocolate as he calmly sipped at it as if he hasn’t just _stolen_ it. he was friends with traitors.

 

minho glared.

 

seungmin looked up, smiling, and offered “want some?”

 

minho raged silently and stomped over to take it back. he cried a little inside when he realised that seungmin has ruined his kitty marshmallows, drowning them in the brown concoction. they’d only been six minutes old. with a huff he left the room to go fix them and came back with hyunjin trailing behind him like a puppy, marshmallow bag now half full.

 

“why are you both here?” minho questioned as he sat down on the only chair in the room, his bed was occupied by two hooligans, “my room is the smallest.”

 

“but your heart is biggest, hyung.” hyunjin fluttered his eyelashes at him. the look lost potency as soon as he snickered and shoved another marshmallow into his mouth. that had to be the fifteenth one he’d eaten – even seungmin was beginning to look a little sick watching him devour the sugary treat.

 

minho shrugged, “i’ll take it.”

 

after he finished his drink – he made sure to share some with seungmin because he couldn’t be bothered to make another one and seungmin had made cute grabby hands that had won him over – minho shuffled over to closet, wheelie chair stumbling just once as it caught on the rug, and began rummaging around for something to wear.

 

 he took out a pair of black jeans and laid them on the bed. he went back to look for a shirt as hyunjin shifted closer to the edge and eyed the jeans.

 

he picked them up, “hyung?”

 

“get your sticky hands off my shit,” minho scolded, “and, yeah?”

 

“got a date?”

 

“wouldn’t you like to know.” minho very deliberately loosened up the tension in his shoulders and turned to look at his friends. hyunjin didn’t look suspicious, just curious, but seungmin was giving him a look. he hated looks.

 

“no.” minho said when the silence got too much.

 

“these are your favourite jeans.” hyunjin said, holding them up higher as if to emphasize the point.

 

“they are.” seungmin repeated like he was being helpful. he wasn’t.

 

minho pouted, throwing caution to the wind, “i invited chan out for brunch.”

 

‘brunch?’ seungmin mouthed to himself as hyunjin bopped his head up and down in understanding.

 

“ah, the roof thing?”

 

“the roof thing.” seungmin repeated once he’d gotten over his hang-up and buried himself even deeper into the den of blanket and pillows, till only the upper half of his face was visible.

 

minho thought he might be falling asleep.

 

“the roof thing,” he confirmed, turning back around, “now help me choose a shirt.”

 

hyunjin nodded and hopped off the bed. he threw the bag of marshmallows at seungmin – they bounced off his head and landed to his right side – and then walked over to the closet. after careful deliberation he picked out a deep red dress shirt, “what about this?”

 

minho scrunched his nose, “i’d be overdressed.”

 

“firstly,” hyunjin rolled his eyes, depositing the shirt on the bed, “this is your first date –“

 

“that kinda implies that there’ll be more.”

 

“shut up, minnie.”

 

“ _secondly_ ,” hyunjin continued, louder, “bang’s going to be wearing that same old leather jacket so who cares.”

 

“i care.” minho said.

 

hyunjin didn’t acknowledge him, instead he threw a grey polo and a white bomber at him. he bent to pick up the red shirt and tossed that over too, “try them on, whichever fits best with the jeans and the bomber go with that,” he said and then jumped back onto the bed, thanking seungmin when he passed the marshmallow bag back.

 

“you’ve set this up for failure,” minho accused, holding up the grey polo. hyunjin shrugged, throwing a marshmallow at him.

 

“go and try it on.”

 

minho tried it on.

 

“what do you think?” he asked, twirling in front of the mirror and hating the look of the polo with the bomber. seungmin sent him a thumbs down and hyunjin didn’t even look over before waving him away. after trying on two more combinations with the grey polo, minho walked out with the red shirt and looked himself over, “well? is this what you wanted?”

 

hyunjin was sitting cross-legged now, marshmallow bag woefully empty and seungmin leaning against his shoulder, milk staining his upper lip.

 

“no.” hyunjin said, he sounded frustrated, “i don’t feel it.”

 

minho slumped, “me neither.”

 

while minho took the bomber and shirt off, looking through his closet for _something_ that would feel right, seungmin turned to hyunjin, nuzzling his face into his shirt, “i like your shirt.”

 

“thanks,” hyunjin grinned, and then frowned, “don’t like how much collarbone it shows, though,” he said, pointing down at where he’d paper clipped it together. seungmin thought it looked edgy and chic, but hyunjin seemed upset.

 

“give it to me.”

 

they both looked up at minho standing over the side of the bed, shirtless and eyeing hyunjin’s shirt with a fervor.

 

“…what?” hyunjin asked, pointing toward his shirt, confused “this?”

 

minho nodded, making grabby hands before he was surging forwards to get the shirt off himself.

 

“hyung!” seungmin cried, falling off the bed when hyunjin’s legs flailed and accidentally pushed him off, “get off jinnie!”

 

minho didn’t listen, he cried out in triumph once he had the shirt on hand and hyunjin pinned underneath him, shirtless and red-faced.

 

“you’re the worst.” hyunjin hissed. minho shrugged, he tossed him the grey polo and put hyunjin’s shirt on. it was soft and a light, minty green – it was perfect.

 

 

.

 

 

minho gets to class exactly on time, collarbones on display and eyelids shimmering. he doesn’t see changbin – which, when he considers how much they’d gotten done on sunday, makes a lot of sense – but mina waves at him as he passes her seat. he smiles down at her but doesn’t say anything, sliding into his seat a few rows behind.

 

he’s not exactly sure how to feel about the mina situation, but hyunjin had said that if he was serious about chan then he needed to cancel the date and tell her the truth. minho thought that was stupid because chan was his _friend_ , they were going on a _friend_ date.

 

right? right.

 

“right.” minho huffed softly, focusing on the lecture when professor kim began talking.

 

it didn’t matter if he thought chan was a little cute, and that he had a nice smile and maybe minho wouldn’t mind being kissed by him or holding his hand or –

 

right. friends. that’s what they were.

 

minho slumped into his seat. he ignored the lecture and started skimming through some websites online, he wanted a new pair of shoes and a mini sweater for soonie, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to afford it yet. maybe he needed a job.

 

 

            | **you:** _i need a job_

 

            | **minnie:** _get one then._

 

 

minho frowned and then turned his phone off, shoving it in his bag. seungmin was officially on his hit list.

 

he tuned back into the lecture, raising his hand to ask the professor a question about his assignment halfway through. by the end of the two hours he was exhausted and really needed some caffeine.

 

he walked over to where jieun was silently waiting near the lecture entrance and asked her about the assignment.

 

“i’ve already sent it off.” jieun said, smiling softly. she had a nice smile, close lipped but sincere.

 

minho nodded, smiling back, “that’s great, i’m going to finish it off tonight hopefully.”

 

as he left the lecture hall mina called out to him from her seat, her shout carrying over the cacophony of voices and freezing minho on the spot, “can’t wait for our date, minho!”

 

minho looked around at the sudden silence as everyone looked at the commotion that was choi mina, nodded a little and then quickly walked out, hoping this wouldn’t complicate his life.

 

 

.

 

 

minho glanced from up from his phone screen to the entrance for day shack, he was early.

 

but chan was already standing there.

 

minho leaned back against the telephone poll, eyes racking over chan’s figure. the boy was standing still, one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone – today though, he wasn’t wearing his leather jacket. minho felt an acute sense of loss, but the denim substitute was dark and fitted him well enough. his hair was parted from the left and fell over the side of his face in soft blonde curls, blue highlights fading into something lighter, greener. it looked good.

 

chan looked good.

 

minho shuffled in place a little, he bit his lip as he watched. chan had finally moved on from just staring at his phone to holding it up to his face, his face mirroring minho’s for a split second as he fidgeted with his hair, trying to find an angle that suited his taste. minho felt a smile spread over his face and didn’t bother to hide it, chan was acting cute.

 

picture supposedly taken, chan brought his hands back down, typing away on his device. a moment later minho’s own vibrated in his hands and he jolted, surprised. he looked down, staring quizzically at the message he’d just been sent. by chan.

 

chan had sent him the picture. minho blushed, grinning, and saved the photo to his camera roll.

 

he didn’t bother sending one back as he strolled up to chan, catching his eyes with a nod and a smile, “hey there.”

 

“minho!” chan laughed, “you’re early and pretty!”

 

minho blinked, breaking out into a sudden smile. “thanks.”

 

chan was a little red in the ears but he didn’t look like he’d complimented him for the sake of it, in fact his eyes kept straying from his thighs to his eyes to his chest. minho preened under the attention, hands closing around his waist to accentuate it. he liked how chan’s eyes widened.

 

“right.” minho said, “you look good, is that a new jacket?”

 

chan flushed, minho was stupidly endeared, “uh, yeah?”

 

“was that a question?”

 

“no?” chan shook his head, standing straighter, “i mean, no.”

 

“so it’s not a new jacket?” minho teased, unable to help himself back as chan spluttered, caught off guard. minho laughed, adding quickly, “i’m just kidding, let’s go.”

 

“oh, wait,” chan quickly intercepted minho, grabbing his hand and leading him away from the day shack. minho swiveled his head from the lonely looking lunch spot to the back of chan’s head. he sighed a little, it was a very beautiful head.

 

he blinked and shook his head, one hand coming up to rest a cool palm against his cheek. that was such a stupid thought to have about a boy he barely knew, hyunjin was going to clown him to the moon and back.

 

“i got us reservations,” chan explained as he led him to the university car park. his hand was warm on his wrist, his fingers strong but gentle as he guided him along. minho wondered why he was following so obediently but he couldn’t explain it. chan threw him a nervous smile at his silence, “changbinnie helped too.”

 

“seems fancy.” minho remarked evenly, not knowing what to say.

 

chan shrugged and then stopped him in front of a motorbike. it looked nice, sleek and black with blue accents. minho wasn’t sure why they were stopping here though.

 

“what’s this?” he asked.

 

chan grinned, throwing him a helmet. minho caught his effortlessly, smiling a little when chan whistled appreciatively, “it’s our ride.”

 

“you mean your ride, i’m not getting on that thing.”

 

“come on,” chan encouraged, already seated and holding a hand out to minho, helmet secured tightly on his head, “it’ll be fun.”

 

minho looked on, skeptical. the bike didn’t look safe or fun, but chan seemed so earnest and he’d got them _reservations_ , like a _date_ date. fuck. he chanced a glance at the boy on the bike and cursed, that smile of chan’s was going to be his undoing.

 

“fine.” minho pouted, slowly swinging his legs over the bike. chan adjusted him a little, and then grabbed his hands and wrapped them around his middle, “hold on tight.”

 

_well_ , minho thought, pressing his face into chan’s back and breathing in his lovely scent, _maybe this wouldn’t be so bad._

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

“that was the worst decision of my life.” minho spat, jumping off the bike as soon as it stopped and spinning as he slipped on the concrete. he caught himself with a soft gasp.

 

chan looked fond and a little worried, “sorry, are you okay?”

 

minho rolled his eyes, “yeah, wonderful. near death turns me on.”

 

chan laughed and parked his bike, taking the helmet from minho and hanging it on the handlebars. the ride had been hell sure but being pressed so closely to chan was somewhat comforting and exhilarating, he might be up for it again just for that feeling alone. it was intoxicating.

 

“next time we can take the bus.” chan smiled. minho’s heart skipped a beat and he silently told it off. what a cliched thing for it to do at just the possibility of another date.

 

“it’s a date.” minho shot back with a wink before he lost his nerve, and then dragged chan with him inside.

 

the place was sophisticatedly decorated, sleek, like chan’s bike, and themed with hints of black and silver and white, monochromatic but lovely. the outside was lined with flowers of all kinds, but the inside was a bit more minimalistic, tables of one, two, three all lined up neat distances from each other. it wasn’t too packed, they were here at off peak hours after all, but it was still littered with enough people to have minho hunching in a little. and they all looked so – put together, sleek and dangerous.

 

minho stared down at his own outfit and then honed into chan’s hand slipping into his own. chan was smiling at him sweetly, edged softened with worry, “you okay?”

 

minho ached suddenly. he wanted to kiss the boy, god did he ever. but he didn’t, just nodded and shot a grin back, teeth on display, happiness with chan wasn’t hard to find.

 

chan’s shoulders eased out, no longer tense. he gave the waitress at the entrance his name and she walked them over to a table for two near the windows. they were long and reached the floor, looking like glass walls rather than windows if it weren’t for the latch minho could see at the bottom. he wondered how they worked.

 

it all felt a little too – expensive, fancy, for minho. he’d only ever gone to places like these for big celebrations, like his father’s promotion or his acceptance into the university. he wasn’t sure how to feel about it now.

 

he felt a little underdressed, that was for sure. chan might have been wearing a denim jacket, but the shirt underneath had felt like silk and looked like silk and minho wasn’t sure if he wasn’t in over his head with this. on one hand money was hot, on the other –

 

“here’s the menu,” the waitress interrupted minho’s thoughts, placing two leather clad menus in front of them both before looking at minho and then at chan, “would you like anything to drink?”

 

_double vodka coke_. minho thought with despair as he browsed the menu, he couldn’t afford these prices, what was chan thinking. he smiled confidently up at the waitress, “i’ll have some water, please.”

 

“sparkling or still?”

 

“still, please.” minho answered, feeling his smile waver and hoping it wasn’t noticeable. the waitress nodded and then turned to chan.

 

“just some watermelon juice, please.” chan sent her a brilliant smile. he wasn’t sure the girl was alive after that, it was a little blinding how chan seemed to throw those away without a care, ridiculously endearing – but blinding. like the sun on a day without clouds.

 

summer was his favourite season.

 

“you go here often?” minho asked, noticing how he hadn’t even looked at the menu to see whether watermelon juice was an option.

 

chan nodded, “it’s changbin’s favourite restaurant.”

 

there was an ache in his chest that minho ignored with gritted teeth, hiding his expression behind his menu. he wasn’t jealous of _changbin_. that would be ridiculous. it was probably his heart; he should schedule an ecg soon. he was overdue for one anyway.

 

there was silence after that. it was thankfully broken by the waitress before it could teether into the territory of awkwardness, she placed their drinks on the table in front of them, “here you go, still water and watermelon juice, enjoy. i’ll be back when you’re ready to order.”

 

she bowed lightly and left. minho glanced from the menu to chan and back to the menu. he wasn’t sure there was anything here he could really afford within his budget without relying on ramen for the next week, but he also wasn’t sure how to go about breaking it to chan.

 

“sorry, i’ll be right back.” minho stood up, smiled at chan, and then hightailed it to the toilet without a backwards glance. if he looked at chan’s face too much he’d cave in.

 

as soon as the door shut behind him he dropped the toilet cover down and sat on it, his phone clutched between his hands like a life saver. he called the one person who he knew would be able to help him.

 

“ _hyung? what’s up?_ ” hyunjin sounded a little groggy, like he’d just woken up, “ _it’s-“_

a pause.

 

“ _jesus, hyung, it’s like noon on a monday_.” hyunjin groaned. there was a thump, most likely hyunjin falling back into his bed.

 

“i’ve got a problem.”

 

“ _aren’t you on a date with bang?_ ” hyunjin asked, confused.

 

“that’s the problem!” minho rushed out, “he took me to la lune! la lune!”

 

“ _i don’t know what that is._ ” hyunjin yawned.

 

minho screeched into the phone and was awarded with a louder thump and hyunjin cursing on the other end, “ _hyung! stop!_ ”

 

“help me.” minho ordered.

 

“ _what’s the problem exactly?”_

 

“i can’t afford anything on the menu.” minho clarified, voice getting higher pitched, “what do i do?”

 

“ _run away_.” hyunjin said and then hung up on him.

 

minho gaped down at the blank screen and moaned, “oh no. oh no no no, please no.”

 

hyunjin hadn’t hung up on him, his battery had died.

 

.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick question : who's your bias in Stray Kids?


	6. raincheck?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “sorry i took so long,” minho apologised, and then without thinking, “i got caught up peeing.”
> 
> he winced. not his finest excuse. 
> 
>  
> 
> (or the one where the stress waxes and wanes like the tides with the moon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a month, it's been a muthafookin month!

.

 

minho’s reflection stared sadly back at him through the blank screen of his phone.

 

“shit, shit, shit, _shit_!” he hissed, tapping his phone to no avail. if his mother was here he’d be getting a slap to the back of the head for his language – god, he almost wished she was here. she’d know what to do in this situation he’d found himself in, hell – she wouldn’t have ever even gotten into a dilemma like this in the first place.

 

the situation being lee minho with just a couple thousand won to his name, in an expensive restaurant, his phone dead to the world because he’d stupidly forgotten to check if it was charged before he’d left.

 

the clock in the bathroom ticked loudly, suddenly assaulting his mind and reminding him that he’d been hiding away in the toilets well over the time that would be deemed appropriate.

 

chan was going to hate him after this. if someone had done this on a date with him, he’d have thought the other was bailing. he slumped dejectedly; his day had started off relatively okay too.

 

“well, damn.” minho bit his lip, glancing at his reflection to make sure he looked presentable, and then nodded to himself resolutely. his eyes looked slightly feverish and his hair was a mess from running his hands through it in panic, but at least it didn’t look _bad_ – just artfully dishevelled. he sent a silent thanks to his mother for her wonderful genes, he could work with artfully dishevelled.

 

minho creeped slowly out of the toilets and slid towards the archway blocking him from the view of the other occupants of the restaurant. he watched discreetly as chan sat exactly where he’d left him, phone placed face down to the side, not making a single move to pick it up even though he’d left him to rot with zero simulation for – he glanced down at his watch, eyes widening, shit, he’d left him for over ten minutes.

 

he looked back up, chan’s hand fluttered for a second above his phone before he shook his head and grabbed his juice. he took a sip and then set it down, picking the napkin up to neatly fold it into a small square. seungmin did that too, but on him it looked restless, on chan it looked natural, a motion that was meant to happen.

 

minho narrowed his eyes, it felt a little…odd, to him. he wasn’t sure why, but before he could think more on it a waitress moved past him and strutted to chan’s table. it was the same woman from earlier.

 

minho observed, interest spiking, as a look he hadn’t expected to see on the older boy crossed chan’s face. his mouth moved elegantly, minho assumed rejecting to order as he politely shook his head and then turned away, looking out at the large glass windows instead.

 

that was very clearly a dismissal and minho didn’t miss the disappointed look that crossed the woman’s face before she quickly composed herself, bowed, and left back into the area the other workers were bringing food from.

 

he stifled a laugh; it was amusing despite everything.

 

minho exhaled slowly, composing himself, and walked out with what he was hoping was a confident sway in his boots. he plastered a smirk on just in case, his mother always said his face was his most powerful weapon.

 

chan flushed when he noticed him, so he figured he was in the all clear. he stuffed his shaking hands in his pockets, why he was so nervous about this he didn’t know.

 

“sorry i took so long,” minho apologised, and then without thinking, “i got caught up peeing.”

 

he winced. not his finest excuse.

 

chan just shook his head, laugh catching in his throat a little awkwardly, “it’s fine.” minho appreciated the effort to slide past his idiocy.

 

 _your fine_ , minho did not say – but he wanted to. everything in his life was a mess, his feelings included. why couldn’t chan just admit he was in love with him and make things easier for minho.

 

 _not like_ i'm  _in love with him or anything_ , minho quickly back tracked his thoughts. chan was just very pretty and he wanted to maybe kiss him.

 

“are you ready to order?” chan asked, brightening up as he filled the silence, then he looked between minho and his chair, confused, “uh, aren’t you going to sit?”

 

minho’s shoulders slumped a little, hunching inwards. his confidence was leaking out of him the more he looked at chan. there was just something about the man that left him a little vulnerable, more open, like he couldn’t just be blasé about the things he did with him.

 

he wasn’t sure he liked the feeling.

 

“no – i mean…” minho trailed off, uncertain how to go about what he wanted to say. everything he’d practiced in front of the mirror in the toilets had vanished from his mind when chan began to look a little droopy and sad, like a kicked puppy – god, his dori made that expression too.

 

“i can’t eat here.” minho said.

 

“oh my god, i’m so sorry. are you vegetarian?” chan apologised rapidly. he stood up, chair screeching loudly against the wooden floor as his hands flailed, taking minho by surprise. chan frowned, “taking you to a steak house was probably so inconsiderate of me, i’m so-“

 

“no!” minho choked on his laughter, feeling his heart squeeze. chan was great, just – great.

 

“i love meat.” he corrected, “i just can’t afford to eat here, chan.” a part of him wanted to apologise even though he knew there was no need to apologise for not having money. he hoped he sounded sincere though, he’d never cared about how he came across before, not unless it was his dancing, but he wanted to try for chan.

 

he _was_ sorry that he’d essentially wasted chan’s time, though.

 

chan stared at him, blinking, “oh.”

 

“yeah.” minho sighed, shifting from one foot to another. he was starting to feel a little awkward standing there. he moved to grab his phone off the table when chan’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

 

“oh my god.” chan had his head in his hands, “i’m so sorry. that was so insentive of me,” he spoke quickly, words bleeding into one another in his haste to get them out, “jisung always tells changbin and i that we do this all the time but because he goes along with it and no one’s ever really turned me down before i didn’t think about how you would-“

 

“chan, it’s okay.” minho interrupted. he smiled and held chan’s hand to reassure him. he wasn’t sure whether chan was a naturally teary-eyed person or whether those were actual tears starting to build up in his eyes, but he didn’t want to find out right here and right now as the staff glared at them, “it’s fine.”

 

“we can go somewhere else.” minho suggested, squeezing chan’s hand.

 

“or, i could pay for you,” chan replied, squeezing back, “i was going to anyway to be honest.”

 

“you were going to pay for me?” minho blinked, shocked and a little flattered. the prices he’d seen were nothing to laugh about and none of his dates had ever offered to pay for everything before.

 

chan rubbed the back of his neck, grinning, “i mean, yeah?”

 

minho was interrupted from replying as a waiter came by, agitated, and asked them if they were going to take their seats or not, _otherwise i’m sorry sirs but i’ll have to ask you to leave_. chan eyed him with that look again and nodded, he pulled minho’s chair out for him – minho did _not_ think the look was hot or that he liked him pulling his chair for him – and then sat down.

 

when the waiter asked if they were finally ready to order, voice a bit clipped, chan sent him away with a wave of his hand.

 

minho was starting to feel bad for the staff, chan had interacted politely up until now, but the chilly vibes he was getting off him were unnerving and they weren’t even aimed at _him_.

 

“how about you pay this time, but i cover dessert.” he countered.

 

chan raised an eyebrow, “you don’t want to have dessert here?”

 

“how does handmade ice-cream and waffles sound?”

 

“wonderful.” chan answered warmly, smile stretching across his face as he leaned forward. chan’s hand closed around his and minho bit his lip to stop his smile from spreading giddily over the rest of his face.

 

 

.

 

 

the waitress that brought over their food was different to the first one. taller and more soft spoken, blonde hair with roots tied into a low professional bun at the nape of her neck. he hoped the other woman was on a break and they hadn’t pushed her away. he’d worked in food retail before and it wasn’t pleasant.

 

she set his plate down in front of him and his attention was captured. he’d ordered fried calamari and the fillet mignon and the smell of the seafood and the steam wafting off the meat was making him high, he hadn’t smelled something his good in a while.

 

chan had gotten ribeye and lobster and was already digging into his food.

 

“surf and turf?” minho smiled.

 

chan nodded enthusiastically, nose scrunching up as he made a surfer’s sign with one hand and pointed down at his plate with the other. it was ridiculously endearing.

 

he burst into hearty laughter at the display and chan followed suit right after, one loud and soft, and the other high and sweet – the sounds intermingling together were pleasant for his ears, he briefly contemplated fate before inwardly shaking his head.

 

he dug into his calamari, “so, like i was saying,” minho popped a piece of it into his mouth, chewing, “have you ever tried becoming a radio dj – god,” he stopped, looking down at his food in amazement, “this is so good? here, say ‘ahhhh’.”

 

chan blushed, staring at minho’s outstretched hand, but he complied and leaned closer. minho watched as his lips slipped open, wide and gaping and then closed around his fork, engulfing the generous serving of calamari he’d cut up for him in the confines of his mouth. it was surprisingly sensous and delicate for someone whose overall countenance worked against that image.

 

his lips like that looked kissable. minho unconsciously licked his lips and sighed.

 

chan quirked an eyebrow up in question, hand held to his mouth as he chewed his food.

 

minho shook his head. it was nothing after all, just a man maybe, sort of, cruching on his new _very_ good looking friend. it was fine – totally cool even.

 

chan took a big gulp of his drink, adam’s apple bobbing in clear view of minho. his mouth opened slightly, he wanted to bike his neck, fuck. this wasn’t going how he’d thought it would.

 

 _or it’s going exactly like you want it to,_ came the suggestion from a voice in his head that sounded so disgustingly like hwang hyunjin that minho immediately shot it down and locked it somewhere deep in his mind.

 

“as for you question, i wanted to apply to the local radio station,” chan picked up the conversation enthusiastically, unaware of minho’s inner turmoil. he was very animated as he spoke, head tilted this way and that and arms moving whenever he wanted to stress a point. his eye contact was strong and steady as he told minho about wanting to talk to vulnerable kids and help them out. gushed shyly about how much he liked making music that had helped him and how he really wanted to put it out – relatively free – so that it could maybe help others as well.

 

he paushed, taking a breath. he looked contemplative, “i don’t really need money, my parents are really well off and while i don’t want to rely on them too much, i also really want the freedom to be able to choose to do something i’m both good at and like.” he shrugged, “i don’t know, i feel ungrateful sometimes, but changbin says there’s nothing wrong with parents wanting to make their children’s lives easier than their own and i can’t really argue against that.”

 

“what would you call your segment?” minho asked, leaning forward slightly, rapt with attention, there was something about the way chan spoke that was so utterly captivating. he’d love to take a dip in a lake made of chan’s voice if that was possibly in any universe.

 

chan laughed, looking less vulnerable and instead prouder, shoulders pulled back and a twinkle shining brightly in his eyes, “stray kids.”

 

mihno blinked, “like stray cats?”

 

chan clapped his hands together and grinned, “that’s the one.”

 

 

.

 

 

“oh no.”

 

chan looked up, immediately concerned, a bite of steak still in his mouth.

 

“what, what happened?” he swallowed the piece down, coughing when the piece got stuck in his throat. he grabbed the glass of watermelon juice to ease the journey down.

 

the waitress was next to their table in a flash asking them if they needed any help. minho stared at her for a second. he asked politely, “could we get some water, please?”

 

chan had dropped his glass of juice and was coughing up a storm now, minho tried to get up wanting to help yet not knowing how, but chan waved his hands, urging him to stay seated. the waitress returned just as quick as she’d gone, depositing a tall glass of water and some napkins.

 

“you okay?” minho asked once the coughing had subsided.

 

“me? yes. my dignity? not so much.” chan sighed.

 

minho let out a laugh. he grabbed chan’s left hand in his right, warm and comforting, and squeezed it to get chan to look up. he smiled at him reassuringly when he looked up and was awarded by a sincere smile back.

 

“what happened?” chan cleared his throat, indicating his earlier cry. he didn’t move his hand away and minho beamed, happy.

 

“oh, i just forgot to take a picture of my food for instagram.”

 

“you have instagram?” chan asked, bluntly.

 

minho laughed louder, fond, “doesn’t everybody?”

 

chan looked up form where he was wiping his side of the table, a little bit of embarrassment colouring his cheeks again, “right. what is it?”

 

they end up following each other on instagram. minho looked through his profile before the mutual followers caught his attention, one name in particular – “you know yongbok?”

 

“who?” chan frowned, confused.

 

“felix.” minho corrected.

 

“oh yeah! i helped him for orientation!” chan snapped his fingers, depositing the sodden napkin to the side of the table.

 

minho whipped his head up from chan’s phone screen, and said louder than intended, “ _you’re_ the hot arms guy?”

 

chan flushed, ears bright red, as he looked around, awkward at being the point of attention so quick without a warning.

 

“shit, sorry.” minho winced, ducking his head and squeezing chan’s hand. he patted it twice, smiling apologetically once it got chan to look at him.

 

chan cocked his head to side, “that’s the first time i’ve heard you swear, i think.”

 

minho opened his mouth without thinking, “you’ve never fucked me before.”

 

silence.

 

“oh god, oh i’m so sorry, i don’t know what i was saying, i thought it’d be funny-“

 

“i’d like to.” chan interrupted and minho’s brain short-circuited.

 

“ _what._ ” he gaped at the boy in front of him, wondering why and how the conversation had derailed so quick. he tried to ignore the heat building up in his stomach at the statement. was this how hyunjin and seungmin felt when they talked to him? it was a little exhausting.

 

“uhhh…” chan trailed of, head ducked into the crook of his elbows.

 

 _oh my god, he’s a subby top,_ minho thought in awe, his breath getting shorter the more his mind stayed on this topic, _god i want to kiss him so badly_.

 

“rain check.” minho said urgently, calling the waitress over for the bill, “we still have to get to dessert.”

 

 

.

 

 

they get home in record speed. minho wasn’t sure who was more rushed, him or chan. he wasn’t even sure what either of them was expecting, but when he failed the third time at getting his keys through because he’d regressed to being fucking twelve again, chan grabbed his hand and helped him.

 

it was both extremely frustrating and hot.

 

minho made a beeline for the fridge, searching for the ice cream, when a britney spears song blared through his home. he looked up from where he was crouched in confusion, “is that you, chan?”

 

“yeah!” chan answered him, and then the song cut off as he began to speak again, “hey mum.”

 

minho tuned out the conversation after that and went searching for the waffle maker. he tended to not eat waffles unless he was absolutely craving them, and hyunjin preferred pancakes, so they had stored it away somewhere he couldn’t for the life of him remember.

 

he gazed contemplatively at the topmost shelf, wondering if maybe hyunjin had put it there, he was the last one to use it after all. then a hand came to rest on his shoulder, startling him.

 

“shit!” minho gasped and whipped around, coming face to face with chan wearing an apologetic expression. his stomach immediately dropped, knowing he wasn’t going to like whatever he was about to say.

 

“sorry for scaring you –“

 

“i wasn’t scared.” minho pouted, crossing his arms.

 

chan smiled slightly but it looked strained at the edges,  “right, but that was my mum and she wants me home, something happened to my sister.” his voice caught a little, eyes shinier in the wrong ways, “she wouldn’t tell me anything, just that it’s an emergency.”

 

“hey.” minho walked closer, pulling the older boy into a hug. he wrapped his arms around his waist, rubbing them over his back as chan’s locked around his shoulders and his face came to rest against the crook of his neck.

 

“it’s gonna be okay, alright?” minho reassured him, “we can do a raincheck on dessert.”

chan pulled back almost reluctantly and nodded, sniffing slightly. mihno sent him off with one last hug.

 

he walked back to his ice cream, staring forlornly. he picked the extra bowl up before shaking his head and instead taking another one out. he grabbed his phone off the counter.

 

 

            **group name:** _dance dance revolution uwu_

 

            | **you:** _come over now_

 

            | **jinnie:** _how’d the date go_

 

            | **lixie:** _wait what date_

| **lixie:** _mina?_

| **jinnie:** _wtf no who’s mina_

 

            | **you:** _unimportant_

            | **you:** _come now, i have icecream n waffles_

 

 

his doorbell rang ten minutes later and there was a sweaty hyunjin and felix on his doorstep. they were both still in their dance gear, dance hoodies tied around their waists. hyunin was even carrying both of their gym bags in one hand while felix cradled a speaker that looked suspiciously expensive with both hands.

 

“why’d you ring the bell? you live here.” minho asked, lightly slapping the back of hyunjin’s head.

 

“ah, hyung.” hyunjin whines, eyes scrunched dramatically, “what if bang was here?”

 

minho hit him again, a little harder, and walked away rolling his eyes. he didn’t need to hear hyunjin’s elaborate excuses – maybe he _was_ rubbing off on his roommate like seungmin tended to complain about.

 

“hyung!” hyunjin cried, “this is abuse.”

 

“your face is abuse.” minho hissed, grabbing a pink bowl and scooping some ice cream into it, he passed it to felix who accepted it with a grateful smile and pointed him towards the fridge when he asked about the chocolate sauce, “there’s some whipped cream in there too, could you take that out too, felix?”

 

felix nodded.

 

“why can’t you be more like felix, he’s such a good kid.” minho scolded, adding an extra scoop into hyunjin’s bowl anyway, he wasn’t going to eat the waffles anyway, so it was a fair trade. otherwise he’d spend the whole night staring at the ice cream tub wishing for another scoop but not doing anything about it.

 

hyunjin rolled his eyes, slumping into his chair, “coming from you that’s rich.”

 

felix laughed.

 

“so,” hyunjin took a spoon of ice cream and held it up, licking it, “where’s your date gone?”

 

“he had an emergency.” minho replied, turning away so they couldn’t see him sulking. he believed chan, the man didn’t seem like the lying type, but it was upsetting nonetheless.

 

“hyung, don’t sulk.” felix said softly, “who is this anyway?”

 

at the same time hyunjin said, “he totally hates you.”

 

“dude!” felix whipped around, slapping his shoulder.

 

“ouch!” hyunjin rubbed the throbbing limb with a wounded expression, “what was that for?”

 

felix motioned with his spoon towards minho’s hunched figure. normally he’d have retaliated, but he was just standing there, staring down at his ice cream. he wasn’t even eating any of it.

 

hyunjin frowned and got up, walking over to him. he hugged the older boy from behind, “hyung? you know i’m just joking right?”

 

minho turned around, snuggling into the hug after he put his bowl down, “yeah, i know.”

 

“and,” hyunjin grimaced, holding minho tighter – minho let him even though his shoulders were starting to ache from the pressure as hyunin forgot about his own strength. he didn’t know where the younger stored all this muscle – as he talked, “as much as i still don’t trust bang chan, jisung says he’s a good guy.”

 

“yeah he is.” minho huffed out a laugh, tickling hyunjin.

 

“wait, you went on a date with chan-hyung!?” felix stood up, his cutlery clattering against his empty bowl. minho looked from him to hyunjin and back again.

 

“yes?” minho said cheekily, ducking as a spoon came flying towards him.

 

hyunjin cackled.

 

“surprise!”

 

 

.


	7. just us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> or the one where there's a subplot or two

 .

 

minho tiptoed into the living room, a plan to scare the younger boys had already formed in his mind but he straightened up when he saw the tv was turned on but the boys weren’t making any noise – hyunjin was very opinionated about _say yes to the dress_ and the bride was wearing a truly hideous dress right then.

 

he didn’t have much cause for worry, however, once he walked closer to the back of the couch.

 

minho broke out into a smile.

 

his boys were sleeping on the couch, sitting up, heads craned towards each other, the force of the contact was the only thing keeping them upright. with a fond shake of his head minho stepped into his room and rummaged through his cupboard for the extra blanket he always kept for seungmin – although the younger boy rarely stayed over so it had been collecting dust behind some bundles for weeks now. it was pink and soft, though, and smelt of hyunjjn’s detergent which meant his roommate must have washed it at some point that week, so it was perfect.

 

well – almost. it was a little too small for both the boys.

 

when minho walked back to the couch and draped it over them, it barely covered hyunjin’s lower body and left felix’s right side completely out. he glanced at the clock on the wall, considering the time. he _could_ wake the both of them up, he was sure felix didn’t have a class tomorrow and hyunjin only had an afternoon one, but they had both been putting extra night hours into practice for the winter showcase and he wanted them to get all the rest they could.

 

“aish.” he sighed to himself, placing his hands on his hips so he could stretch out his back, “why are the two of your like this? hyung’s gonna pull his back.”

 

hyunjin’s answering snore cut through the silence in the room.

 

minho let out an amused snort.

 

he shuffled to hyunjin’s room and took a quick look inside – it was a relatively normal amount of messy, which meant hyunjin would be fine to sleep there. he nodded to himself as he entered the kitchen, picking up the plastic bowls and scattered takeout boxes along the way as he deposited them in the trash and left the bowls in the sink to be cleaned later.

 

once he was done, he walked back over to the couch and tried to wake hyunjin up. when hyunjin didn’t even budge he squared his shoulders and slipped his hands under his shoulders, straightening hyunjin up and tried shaking him awake again.

 

when that didn’t work he poked hyunjin’s cheek a little forcefully and hyunjin swatted his arm away with a groan.

 

“oi,” minho whispered, “i’m trying to take you to your room, idiot, wake up for a bit.”

 

hyunjin blinked groggily, bleary eyed and voice hoarse, “ca’ou tuck m’in?” he asked, not fully awake.

 

minho’s heart squeezed at the child-like request and he softly assured hyunjin that he would once he had sorted felix out on the couch properly. hyunjin nodded and minho helped him walk to his bedroom and flop face first on his bed.

 

“get into the blankets jinnie!” minho said as he made his way towards felix.

 

the younger boy was now slouched at an awkward angle, hyunjin no longer acting as a rest since the taller boy had gone off to bed.

 

_his neck shouldn’t be able to do that_ , minho thought, wincing as his own neck started to ache from watching felix.

 

“hey, felix. felix, get up. please, come on.” minho tried, shaking him slightly. felix was a new addition to their little rag-tag group of friends, so he was not completely sure where his boundaries were regarding a situation like this. when felix didn’t budge, though, minho shrugged and readied himself.

 

he sqautted low, prepped his thighs with a few bounces, and then lifted felix up off the couch and carefully laid him sideways. felix didn’t stir in the slightest, not even when minho accidentally elbowed him in the thighs as he was adjusting the blanket around him.

 

“you must’ve been tired, huh.” minho’s eyes softened with fondness as he watched the boy snuggle into blanket draped over him.

 

_all my friends are so cute, i love them._

 

he hummed under his breath as he crouched and reached under the couch to pull out the bed underneath. from the last time he remembered felix staying over he was very obviously a shifter and waking up to him falling off the couch was not how minho wanted to start his day again.

 

minho straightened up with a pained huff, his back aching from the sudden movement, and then grabbed a pillow from the other couch and placed it around felix – there was nothing wrong with being overly cautious sometimes.

 

after he was done making sure felix was completely comfortable and he was satisfied, he turned the lamp on – placing a tea towel over the light so it wasn’t so jarring – and switched the main lights off, turned off the tv and kissed felix on the forehead goodnight as he headed toward hyunjjin’s room.

 

he startled as he entered to see hyunjin sitting up on his bed, hunched over the phone in his hands.

 

“you’re still awake?” he asked, taking the phone away as he neared and placed it on the bedside table.

 

when hyunjin simply nodded tiredly minho let out a chuckle. he lightly pushed on hyunjin’s shoulders to get him to lay down and tucked him in, making sure to keep the blanket tight around hyunjin’s shoulders especially – _it feels like a hug, hyung!_ – and then helped him take his shoes off too.

 

minho was surprised he’d kept them on, but hyunjin tended to get a little scatter brained when he was tired.

 

“thanks, hyung,” hyunjin said softly, voice almost too quiet to be heard. he stretched his arms out for a hug, ruining minho’s efforts to tuck him in, but minho didn’t mind. he happily obliged and slipped inside the covers next to hyunjin, cuddling him close until the younger boy fell asleep.

 

when he heard the light snoring to indicate hyunjin was in dreamland, minho quietly slipped out of bed, tucking hyunjin in again and grabbed a pillow to use as a makeshift cuddler as he placed it next to him. minho kissed him goodnight on the forehead too and made sure the door was semi-open as he left.

 

he stretched his shoulders out, hands held high above his head as he strolled into his room once he had made sure the front door was locked.

 

he was about to tuck himself in when his phone lit up in the dark.

 

            | **bad boi chan:** _goodnight :)_

 

            | **you:** _good night x_

 

minho bit his lip, stared at his phone and then placed it face down on his side desk. he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

  

.

 

professor min’s lecture started as it always did; with a long silence as the stout professor attempted his very best to get the projector working. usually jjiseok was there to speed up the process, but he was too sick to come in today, and the professor had refused the help of anyone else, citing jiseok as the most competent.

 

the day only got worse from there.

 

professor min took too long to get the lecture started and this not only irritated the students, but put him in a bad mood as well as he began to pick on random students to answer the questions for the starter.

 

minho got picked for the only one out of the nine he had no clue about and was rewarded with sympathetic silence and a dirty look from professor min.

 

then halfway through the lecture his phone dinged loudly, schoed around the hall and cut through what the professor was explaining about short stories. minho tried his best to lessen the damage but it seemed futile – the professor was just getting more agitated.

 

he found out as the lecture was coming to an end that the text was from mina.

 

 

            | **mina:** _this fri? @ 6pm? penni’s ok with you?_

            | **you:** _yeah, sure_

 

            | **mina:** _great! i can’t wait! x_

 

 

minho felt a tiny bit of remorse for his attitude regarding the date, but he also had no intention of actually dating the girl, and furthermore he was a little irritated with her behaviour regarding jieun too – he wasn’t a complete dickhead, though, he’d be friendly to mina but that was all. as soon as the date was over he’d make sure to explain properly and finally that friends was as far as they would ever go.

 

with a nod to himself, minho brightened up – at least that was going to be sorted quick and easy.

 

“lee minho.” professor min’s voice boomed over their heads. no one tended to make any noise when he was around the lecture hall, but his voice was always loud and attention grabbing – rough in its quality. it was surprising the first time, especially since it came from such a small man. “everyone but him, dismissed.”

 

 

 

            | **you:** _why the fuck does prof min sound like snape?????_

 

 

 

predictably he didn’t get a reply. seungmin was probably busy and he knew hyunjin had a class the same time as him.

 

when the professor turned around to turn the projector off, this time asking seo chaeyeon, the tallest person in the lecture, to help him, everyone in the hall quickly whipped their heads around to stare at him.

 

he heard the whispered _who is hes_ and _is that hims_ from the ones who didn’t really know of him, but most of the chatter was part pity and part excitement.

 

“what’s he done?” someone asked.

 

“professor min is brutal for calling him out like that.” a student hissed, horrified.

 

“do you think he’s failed?” he saw dongmin sneer, his voice pitched so that everyone could hear. it got to minho but he just rolled his eyes. dongmin has been at his back for a whole semester now for getting the lead place for the showcase and he was used to it from him.

 

plus, minho was also like 98% sure he hadn’t failed.

 

he waited patiently near his row as everyone pittered out of the hall. once no one was left he headed down towards the speaking podium where professor min was taking a folder out of his bag.

 

“hello professor, you wanted me to stay?” minho bowed politely and asked, resisting the urge to grit his teeth in frustration when the professor didn’t even acknowledge him. a piece of paper was thrust towards him instead – a little forcefully but minho bore it for the sake of getting out of there quicker.

 

it was a term paper, with a name haphazardly printed at the top, “lim woobin” – minho was not sure why that had anything to do with him, hell he didn’t even recognise the name.

 

“sir?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

 

professor min looked up, expression bored. he sat back on his chair and nodded towards the paper, “read it and tell me if it sounds familiar.”

 

as minho got halfway through his blood ran cold and he looked between his paper and the professor. it _was_ familiar – but that was because he’d written it.

 

“this is what i wrote.” minho said, feeling dumb, but he wasn’t sure what else he _could_ say. he tried to hand the paper back, but professor min shook his head.

 

“it is. do you know, mr lee, why i ask my students to submit both physical and electronic copies of their work?” professor min asked lightly. minho opened his mouth to answer but the professor quickly continued on, “it’s so that plagiarism like this can be easily detected.”

 

he sighed a little, “mr lim isn’t very bright, but somehow this paper is both one of the best i’ve gotten from him and this class overall. so, i check his online application and was right to doubt the work as i found it blank. i ran it through the online interface and your online submission came up, which was surprisingly enough _very_ different to your physical submission.”

 

beads of sweat began to form on minho’s forehead, the extent of the situation at hand made him nervous and professor min’s rather indifferent yet stern exterior was hard to decipher. yet, he stated confidently, “this is my work, professor.”

 

“that is yet to be determined.” professor min raised a cutting eyebrow at him and minho wanted nothing but to strangle him in that moment. “however, the lack of an electronic submission _does_ lend credence to your claim. the reason i am only discussing this with you right now is because mr lim is absent due to family matters, but as soon as he’s back, which i’ve been led to believe will most likely be this friday, i want this matter settled between the two of you. understood?”

 

minho gaped at professor min, annoyed and confused, “but sir –”

 

“i said, is that understood?”

 

he snapped his mouth shut and nodded reluctantly, “yes, sir.”

 

professor min sighed again, louder, “good.” and then stood up and walked out the lecture hall. he left minho standing there holding a paper he wrote with someone else’s name on it and another problem to sort through.

 

“this is the worst.” he muttered to himself, angrily scrunched the paper up and tossed it into his bag.

 

.

 

“this is the worst!” hyunjin screeched, nearly tearing the paper with how tightly he had got it griped in his hands. he glared down at it and then threw it back on the table between them.

 

minho was glad that _someone_ was angry on his behalf, he himself had moved on from the brief flash he had felt at the start and had fallen instead into complete and utter despair. his father would call him dramatic and tell him to _toughen_ _up_ or some crap like that – all he wanted to do was cry in his room for a while.

 

after professor min’s class he’d gotten a text from hyunjin telling him to meet him at the cafeteria since his class had finished. when he’d gotten there, he’d immediately flopped on the bench opposite his friends and without a single greeting to either hyunjin or seungmin, thrown the paper in between them before shoving his face into his folded arms.

 

“i can’t believe someone _stole_ my work and claimed it as theirs.” minho moaned sadly, “who even is this lim woobin guy? and who steals someone’s work and does a shoddy job at it, if he was going to steal, he should’ve done it better.”

 

seungmin piped up, “he’s the son of the university head, hyung.”

 

minho groaned, “how do you know that?”

 

“we went to the same club before he dropped out early this semester.”

 

“this is just wonderful.”

 

“do you want me to give you his number?” seungmin asked, already moving to take his phone out of his jacket.

 

“yes, please.” minho answered tiredly, he looked up and shot seungmin a grateful look and then did a double take.

 

“when did you two get here?” he asked changbin and jisung, a little bit more rudely than he’d intended to, but he wasn’t in the mood to play nice with anyone who wasn’t his friend.

 

changbin glared at him and kept silent but jisung happily answered in his stead, “hyunjin’s helping me with my assignment, and i asked changbin-hyung to tag along! chan-hyung should be here soon too.”

 

minho stared at the little chatter box in front of him and wondered why instead of finding him annoying he found the boy strangely endearing. he reached over and poked his cheek, “cute.”

 

jisung scrunched his nose and huffed, but his ears were pink from the tips.

 

“wait,” minho blinked, “did you say chan’s coming?”

 

“yeah!” jisung chirped.

 

“why?” minho asked, forehead creased.

 

changbin spoke up for the first time, “why can’t he?”

 

a shot of irritation ran throw him but minho tried to ignore it, a little too focused on the possibility of seeing chan. what did it matter if he came? his heart needed to settle down - he was _not_ happy to see him.

 

 

(he was.)

 

 

“what are you gonna do about this, hyung?” jisung cut into the tension. changbin turned away from minho and laid his head down on his folded arms, inadvertently copying minho’s pose. minho heard the sound of a shutter but he ignored it, choosing to file it away for later. seungmin would be a dead man soon.

 

“did i give you permission to call me hyung?” minho scolded him half-heatedley, instead of answering. jisung’s smile wavered a little, not dropping but the intensity wasn’t at the highest voltage anymore.

 

minho shoved the guilt down his throat and shrugged, “i’m just joking, you can call me whatever.”

 

no one looked convinced but jisung’s smile was back at its peak, so he figured he was off the hook for now.

 

“okay whatever!”

 

minho glared but before he could say anything to the beaming boy, he caught sight of chan’s signature leather jacket out of the corner of his eye. he was walking into the canteen, clad in black fitted jeans and a black beanie, dark circles noticeable even from where minho was sitting. minho eyed him worriedly as he sat down in front of him after he greeted everyone.

 

“is your sister okay?” minho asked quietly, leaning in close so he wouldn’t be heard by the others.

 

chan looked slightly taken aback by the question, but leaned in closer too, whispering, “she’s okay. just a minor accident. i just, i worry – you know?”

 

minho didn’t know, but he nodded anyway to ease chan’s mind, smiling at him and reaching for his hand under the table to give it a reassuring squeeze. chan didn’t smile back but his eyes brightened, and he didn’t let go of his hand.

 

minho would count it as a win.

 

changbin shot them both a wary look but was pulled back into the conversation seungmin and hyunjin were having, jisung oddly quiet as he sipped his juice box and nodded intermittently.

 

minho pretended to listen for a while, sneaking glasses at chan every few seconds, before he turned around completely, “wanna get out of here?”

 

chan blinked at him, taking a moment to process the request before he nodded his acceptance, “sure. should i…?” he gestured to the others.

 

minho shook his head, slowly getting up, “no, just us.”

 

“just us.” chan smiled softly, looking down at where minho had interlocked their hands together, “sounds good.”

 

.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm,,,,kind of slowing losing my excitement for this fic? whoops,,,,so this might be shorter than it was meant to be, give it like 5 more chapters???

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter ](https://mobile.twitter.com/pakiinnit)


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